Love, Hate, and Dog Racing
by Sleazy E
Summary: This is a story of love between family and friends and the hate that can come with the territory of the past. All of this mixed around the Alaska 500, the biggest dog race to return to Nome.
1. Chapter 1

_This is a story of Love. _

There was nothing quite able to describe the cold that lingered in the town of Nome Alaska except the numbers. For just under three weeks -seventeen days to be exact - the sun had not graced the town with it's southern rays of heat. There had been no sign that the bright orb even still existed in the land of ice; apart from the four hours in the day when a depressing hue of gray covered the sky. And with the lack of sun in the land, the temperature never once in the seventeen day streak broke above the number of -35.

Furthermore with the cold and seemingly never ending night, there rested a plague about the land. It was a mixture of two elements that brought about the gentle suffocating force that crept through the late night streets and trapped townspeople in their houses; and completely buried others to be rescued by a friendly neighbor or ten. The mixture of extra cold arctic winds out of the north, and fluffy sand like snow from the mountains outside town, brought powerful drifts right up to the front doors of all the homes.

For the most part they came in the night when men women and children slept in their beds and couldn't sweep the snow away as it came. When they woke in the morning they would go to step out to fetch wood for the frozen stove, only to find a solid sheet of snow in their path. Some tunneled through and escaped, others yelled to be rescued, while still others perished in cave-ins. It was a true fact in Nome, that fourteen people had been killed by one, or a mixture, of cold, wind, and snow in the short time of three weeks.

Now most of the time in Nome when the alcohol in the thermometer outside of the telegraph office on the corner of town dropped below -30, a town wide snow-day was celebrated. In the short term this worked well with everybody: fathers spent time with their kids, wives spent time with their husbands, and kids got to spend time with both of their parents learning skills for life, or just something to occupy their time and mind.

When the temperature became to low for mining in 'mild,' comfort, the miners left the mountains for the bars and Burlesque Houses of town. Those few who had a friend who owned a house spent the night there after a long night of drinking, while the rest who owned nothing but themselves slept in the bars.

Yet cabin fever can break the strongest bond. It began happening around the tenth day. That's when all the families reached a breaking point. Parents, growing sick of their children and their antics, raised their voices, and sometimes their hands to set their children 'right.' The children hated their parents for having to adhere to their strict rules, and wished they could return to school and the carefree ways they had with friends. Wives and husbands yelled at each other for one thing or another. It seemed that it didn't matter what it was they yelled at, just as long as they were yelling. Total madness ran throughout each and every house, not to mention the morning snow drifts that locked them in. This just added to the stress on the families.

In the bars it was much worse. Fights broke out over women and who that one woman might love more. Drink and games of cards became a fearful place to tread for fear of breaking a thin line between peace, and death. This sent several people to the hospital with serious head trauma in some instances, and several men to the Marshals Office. The Town Marshal found his jail full of men who had picked fights, stole some goods, or had broken some other law and got caught. So many people filled his jail that he had to figure out what to do with them.

With a little ingenuity the marshal announced his plan to the men in the cells. Each man who agreed to help dig out houses around town each morning until the cold spell broke would not have any charges put on his record. Most men agreed semi eagerly. Yet the thought of a warm jail cell with nothing to do but sleep, eat, and rest appealed to them more than working in the cold.

Nevertheless in the town filled with laziness, greed, and hate, where work came second to just keeping warm and alive in the lions den called the home, there were those who worked. Every day, outside, even when the temperature reached a bone chilling -64, they worked and toiled until the job was finished. They were the United States Mail delivery team between White Mountains and Nome.

The six member team crested the last hill before Nome. They still had a great deal of distance between the town and themselves through thick deep snow and light wind, but that didn't stop them from putting on the after boosters and bolting at full speed towards the town. This was the last hard push towards Nome, and the sooner they got there to rest their cold feet, the better. The fur along the sides of their bodies and along their backs all had the same pasty white look from frost, while their muzzles and faces were weighted down with sheets of ice that coved them like masks. The sled had it's own coating of ice along the runners and sides and along the gear in the basket. Some of it was from the dogs, while most of it had accumulated over the two day trip between Nome and White Mountain.

Under the solid blanket of ice, the sled was a piece of junk. There were hundreds of lashings that held the entire thing together, and hundreds of pieces that had been crudely cut and tacked into place. In the basket of the sled, pressed firmly in between medical kits, food, rifle, and a tent, rested two 50 pound sacks with 'Mail' printed on the sides. The sights of the sled under the weight of what was in it would have made even a expert musher stare in wonder; wonder at how the sled kept from falling apart.

On the back of the sled stood an animal on it's hind legs, gripping the back bar of the sled with his front paws and every now and then brining one of his back paws down to help propel the sled forward. The animal, known as Mr. Simpson, had the furs of several different animals wrapped around his body to keep the cold away from his hairless skin. He had the fur of a bear on his back and down along his arms, and the fur of a beaver on his hands. He also had the white fur of the caribou wrapped around his legs to form thick pants. All of Mr. Simpson's extreme cold weather clothing had the same coating of ice as his dogs and the same thick mask of ice around the hole of his bearskin hood.

The lead dog, Kodi, jerked hard in his harness that had so many patches the original harness was hardly even there, signaling to his teammates to push hard. The sled groaned with stress, and the ice on the sides of the sled, and on Mr. Simpson's clothing broke free and fell silently to the snow. The jerk put so much force into the gang-line and into the harnesses of his teammates, that the ice bound to their faces broke and hung, still frozen to their fur. Yet they didn't let the pieces bother them as they responded to the jerk and bolted forwards with all of their remaining energy. They were almost home: food, rest, warmth, and time to themselves; never mind the fact that they spent most of their free time with each other.

Mr. Simpson had expected the sudden jolt in his sled. His dogs had done it many times before; it was like some game they tried to play with each other in the last quarter mile before Nome. They would speed up and try to throw Mr. Simpson when they hit the corner before the Post Office. Mr. Simpson gritted his teeth and held the sled tight in his hands. _I'm always up to a little game._ He thought.

Despite the heavy snow, the long trail, empty bellies, and tired feet, the dog's energy showed through as they gave it their all. The snows around Kodi flew up as his feet churned with the force of a steam engine going at it's fastest pace. Flying snow covered his teammates, making them run faster so their faces cleared the blizzard that encompassed them. Faster, and faster they flew towards Nome. Each second the church steeple grew higher above their heads, and the building looked more like line blockers waiting to get a sack.

Kodi hit the corner just inside the town and tried to make his steps go in a complete 180. He turned so sharp in his harness that Dusty, his teammate who ran directly behind him, made direct eye contact for what seemed a lifetime. Her momentum then threw her behind Kodi. She sunk her paws hard into the well packed snow to get a grip for her turn to follow Kodi.

Mr. Simpson saw the turn coming and threw his weight hard to the right on his sled, brining the left running up, making the right runner spray snow towards the buildings and the wooden sidewalks at the base of them. The turn was stiff and hard, filled with G-force that kept Mr. Simpson standing easily on the right runner, close enough to the snow to reach out and touch it with his elbow.

The turn ended and Mr. Simpson pushed his bodyweight back to the left, brining the left runner back down into the snow with a shake that rattled the entire sled. Mr. Simpson briefly looked down to see if any binding or replaced pieces had broken or flew away. A quick survey revealed nothing, and Mr. Simpson continued on with a strong push from his right foot.

A pace settling hundred yards, that brought the dog's energy gradually down, set them in front of the Nome Post Office. The six dogs, upon stopping and standing still, shook the frost from their fur, revealing the many different colors and features their fur and faces had. The ice chunks around their faces still held tight to their fur. But that didn't seem to be the main thing the dogs were thinking of.

"Are we late … Are we?" Kodi, the lead dog with a broad light crème colored chest and a dark rust colored cape over his shoulders said with energy through his exhausted lungs. Kodi's voice bellowed with the same commanding tone of a captain at the bridge of his vessel.

"I don't know … I don't know." Dusty, a soft silver colored husky right behind Kodi replied, her female voice soothing even when the tension in the air seemed thick enough to see.

The rest of the team remained quite, letting the air that had long been flying through their lungs slowly return through their gasping.

On the back of the sled Mr. Simpson seemed unaware of the time and without care as to what time in the day it might be. He knew what day it was, and today was the day that the mail was scheduled to arrive in Nome. That was good enough for him.

He grabbed his snow-hook, a long double clawed hook with points sharp enough to gouge metal, from the open leather sack on the handlebar of his sled and threw it into the snow. With a light hop, he put his full weight on the hook, sinking it's teeth deep enough that if the dogs decided to take a run the hook would most likely grab a rock under the snow.

Mr. Simpson moved around the side of the sled, grabbing a large canvas bag with obviously little in it. He walked up to his wheel dogs, Kip, and Fell. Both of the dogs were big and brawny, full of muscle. Most mushers thought that the wheel dogs, due to their size and place on the sled, had little brain power. This was true for Kip, a black spot freckled full white male Newfoundland, who's off time hobbies consisted chasing tree's, and scratching himself.

Fell was just as big as his brother and had received all the brain power his brother had lost. He had also received much of his brothers black coat. The only black areas on his coat being the extra long socks that came up to - what humans would refer on themselves as their elbows and knees. Despite his considerable brain power over any member of the team, he did not want a promotion to the front of the team. He always said he wanted to be beside his brother. And so he was.

Mr. Simpson grabbed Kip, his left wheel dog, by the scruff of his neck and shook his fur, followed by stroking his gloved hand down his coat. "Good boy. Good boy." He then reached over to Fell and gave him a scratch across his ears. "You know you're a good boy to Fell." Mr. Simpson grinned; he knew exactly how to make his dogs melt in his hands.

Reaching into the loose sack he removed two extra large balls of fish. Mr. Simpson dropped the sack and put one of the balls into each of his mittens. Kip gripped the ball in his mouth before letting the ball drop to the snow where he looked stupidly at it. Mr. Simpson then handed the other ball to Fell, who held the frozen ball in his mouth till it became soft enough to break apart and swallow.

Mr. Simpson hefted the sack ahead to his next dogs Ralph and Dusty. He gave Ralph a good pat. "Good boy Ralph, good boy." Mr. Simpson let his mitten slide slowly across his fur from his ears to his tail. He then moved his hand over to Dusty's back. "Good bo-" Mr. Simpson couldn't really tell, but he swore Dusty was glaring at him for almost calling him a boy. "I mean girl. Good girl." Mr. Simpson made sure to pat Dusty extra for confusing her gender with the rest of the team. He quickly handed them both a meatball of fish, and moved on to his two leaders, Kirby and Kodi.

Kirby had light brown fur and a wide face. His eyes had the look of a leader, seeing the trail different than any other dog, but his wide face made him look stupid. Kodi's eyes and face beheld a cunning. It was a cunning deep within, bred to the bone. Perhaps a cunning that had yet to be discovered and truly brought to the surface. But it was there.

Mr. Simpson let his hands glide over both his leaders, scratching behind their ears, and rubbing their shoulders. "My boys. My good boys." He grinned. Mr. Simpson brought out two more balls, the last two balls of fish he had. He put one in front of Kirby who took the meat instantly and held it high in his mouth, letting his teeth grind slivers off to swallow. Mr. Simpson then held the other ball in front of Kodi who took it and let it melt in his mouth before chewing it apart.

With the dogs fed and loved, Mr. Simpson went back to the sled. He threw the empty sack into the sled and removed his beaver skin mittens, the only protection from his hands and the cold being a thin wool mitten that steamed in the cold. Mr. Simpson looked at his hands. The steam was thick. _It must be really cold, _He thought.

With his thin gloved hands he grabbed the two sacks of mail and pulled them up from all his gear in the sled. The sideboards - the sides of the sled basket - released the tension that they had been carrying since they left Nome; and for the first time in two days the sled no longer bulged at the sides with gear.

Mr. Simpson carried the mail around the back of the sled, glancing once at his dogs to see them still busy eating their treat. With a grin that only he knew about under his hood, he stepped up on the front porch of the post office. The door was an antique and had been in Nome since the first house had been put up. Scratches and different marks covered the front under the gray of age. The frosted glass was the original. On a warmer day the glass looked old and smoky, like it had been left in a chimney. Mr. Simpson grabbed the handle, old and rusty with delicate designs that had been rubbed off with thousands of uses, and opened the door.

The bell above the door chimed as he entered the heat of the room. A potbelly stove with a tea kettle slowly heating greeted Mr. Simpson on his right.

"Simpson, is that you?" Mr. Conner's frail voice called from the back. It was quickly followed by a sneeze that shook the glass in the front windows behind the stove.

"Still got that cold?" Mr. Simpson then realized his hood was still on. He walked to the counter and set the mail down then removed his hood. "Still got that cold?" He repeated, letting the heat of the room warm his face.

Mr. Conner stepped around a back partition. Around his shoulders he held a wool blanket tight to his neck. On top of his head he wore a wolf skin hat with muskrat earflaps down around his ears. His face was pale and had signs of weakness and exhaustion. Though it might have just been his old age that made him look so sick and tired

"You don't look so good." Mr. Simpson offered. Mr. Conner agreed with a shake of his head and stepped closer to the desk. He opened the blanket and set his right hand on one of the frosty bags of mail. His hand shuddered and recoiled back into the blanket. "It's frozen."

Mr. Simpson smiled, the red of his rosy cheeks following the curve of his native face up to just below his brown eyes. "Well it's kind of hard to keep it warm in all this heat."

Mr. Conner grinned his toothy grin, letting a slight chuckle escape. He reached both of his hands up out of the blanket and grabbed one of the mail bag's strings. With a groan he pulled it back off the counter and let the full weight of it land on the muscles in his arm. He moved around the counter that stopped short of the far end of the building with the mail dangling between his legs as he shuffled along.

"You know, I could take that if you want me to?" Mr. Simpson offered.

"No, no, that's just alright, I got it. If I don't use my muscles while I'm sick, I won't be able to do my job when I'm better."

Mr. Simpson grabbed the remaining bag of mail off the counter and walked to the stove. Above the stove hung an empty sack on a rusty nail in the ceiling. He took the sack down and replaced it with the frozen mail that already began to drip and sizzle on the stove. Mr. Conner handed the bag of mail he had to Mr. Simpson who hung it next to the first bag on another nail.

"So have I missed anything?" Mr. Simpson asked.

Mr. Conner was already on his way back around the counter. "Oh nothing much. Some young man got drunk and fell asleep behind Huxley's house." Mr. Conner turned to Mr. Simpson and smiled. "He's alive, but I'm sure he'll think twice before he drinks again."

Mr. Simpson smiled back. "Frostbite?"

"Oh yeah. I heard it said that he might loose all his toes, and possibly some of his fingers. He's in rough shape, especially his face. Mrs. Tobith, you know, who lives by the hospital, said she could hear the young man screaming yesterday morning as they warmed him up." Mr. Conner let a long grin wrap around his face. "She said she thought they were cutting a horse open over there, and rushed over in her nightgown to beg them to stop." Mr. Conner laughed lightly. Mr. Simpson grinned at the thought of olf Mrs. Tobith running into the hospital screaming "Stop killing the horse."

Mr. Conner busied himself in some paperwork on the counter.

Mr. Simpson left the warmth of the stove for the bulletin board hung up on the far side of the room. Twenty-one different ads covered its face, all of them handwritten with addresses, services, and products. There was one hung up by the town carpenter saying he would build anything asked of him, and would repair anything he was called for. Another one in the corner advertised a sewing circle for young women who wanted to learn how. All of them he had seen before. Yet a new one tacked right in the center of the board, printed in black ink on white paper, brought his attention.

_Town meeting Wednesday the 20th_

_Due to the recent number of criminal activities, and low moral in the town itself, a town meeting has been called for the night of Wednesday to discus possible options for raising moral. All are welcome to attend and share their thoughts and ideas. The meeting will be at 6p.m. in the town hall, coffee and pastries will be served for all who attend. _

_George Neil. _

_Mayor _

"So there's a problem with moral in town?" Mr. Simpson grinned back at Mr. Conner.

Mr. Conner raised his eyes away from papers he had been writing on to look at Mr. Simpson. His eyes looked to be full of answers and stories of what had been happening. "Yeah. With fourteen people dead due to snow, and fights in every bar every night and day, and the jail so full of people that criminals are just turned loose, something has to be done." Mr. Conner reached under his blanket and grabbed a pocket watch from his suit coat. He flipped it open, looked at the time, then closed it and replaced it in his coat. He returned to writing on papers. "Do you have your time papers from White Mountain?"

"Yeah." Mr. Simpson stepped towards the counter while reaching into his coat for a secret pocket that held a piece of paper with the he had arrived in White Mountain, and the time he left. He pulled it out and set it on the counter next to Mr. Conner.

Mr. Conner grabbed the paper and pulled it closer to him. He wrote the two times in spots on a piece of paper with green lines across it with hundreds of other numbers around it. "You're only slightly late today." Mr. Conner's voice was full of praise. His hands moved swiftly to a thin long book and scratched numbers and words across it quickly. "So, I'm going to give you a check for twenty five dollars this week."

As the 'k' in week rolled off his tongue, Mr. Conner ripped the check out of the book and handed it with a grin to Mr. Simpson.

"Thanks!" Mr. Simpson said over-satisfied with the money he had in his hand.

"So, are you going to go to that meeting tonight? Tell them how to pull us out of this crisis." Mr. Conner asked, still writing things down on paper.

"No. The only idea I have to get us out of this is global warming, and I don't quite see how to warm the Arctic."

Mr. Conner grinned his toothy grin as he finished writing. He threw some scattered papers into a book, then closed the book and set it under the counter. "So how are your dogs doing? I can see they need some new harnesses and you could possibly use a new sled."

Mr. Simpson walked to the glass by the stove. He raised his hand to the glass and scrubbed some frost away. His dogs still stood there like they were waiting to go somewhere at any moment. "Yeah, but after getting food for my wife and kids and meat from the butchers for my dogs there isn't anything left. I don't have enough money for a sled, let alone a single harness after all that." Mr. Simpson stopped and smiled at Mr. Conner. "That is unless I get a raise."

Mr. Conner grinned and Mr. Simpson pulled his hood loosely back over his head and placed the check into his pocket. "Well, I guess I better get my Boy's and Girl settled in." Mr. Simpson replaced his beaver skin mittens that hung by cords on his coat and opened the door with a jingle. Steam filled the room as the door closed behind the large bear looking creature, followed by another chime of the bells as the door closed.

Mr. Simpson stood on the porch above all his dogs. None of the dogs looked really interested in their master. "So what do you say we get them nasty harnesses off of you so you can go rest?"

Mr. Simpson's words were like a godsend to Ralph. "Finally, I can get off my feet and let this rotten toe rest." He held up his foot to look at the toe with the nail that bent sideways into another toe. A trace of blood covered the bent one.

"Ralph, where did you actually acquire that, and in what comportments were you engaged in?" Fell said with his scientist predicting the comets impact origin voice.

"Um … could you repeat that slower?"

Fell sighed, "How did you get it?"

"Oh." Ralph said fully able to understand. "It was when me and my look-alike bro, Kirby -"

"- For the last time Ralph. We only look slightly alike, we're not brothers." Kirby said

Ralph lowered his head "I only said we looked like brothers."

Kirby sighed and rolled his eyes, "Okay, now why don't you go on and tell Fell how you bent your nail."

"Well, as I was saying, Kirby and me were young and playing tag in one of the back alleys of Nome. He tagged me. I tagged him. Then he tagged me. So I tagged him back. I then went running and he tagged me. So I just went and tagged him back -" All the while Ralph told the story of who tagged who, he showed it by throwing one front paw on the other when he said 'tagged.'

"- Okay, enough with the tagged, just tell him what happened after that." Kirby growled

"Alright, alright. So Kirby tagged me and he went running under these boxes that were held up by other boxes. I went running after him. But Kirby must have kicked one of the side boxes, because the one up in the air fell down just in front of my nose and I ran right into it. When I woke up Kirby stood over me asking if I was alright. When I looked at my hurt paw, the toe was all bent. And ever since then it's always been bent and hurting me." Ralph raised his paw up and showed the bent toe to Fell.

"I ponder if you mislaid some intellectual dominance in that accident to." Fell grinned.

Ralph grinned and chuckled. "Me too."

Fell laughed even harder. Kirby began laughing and so did Dusty. Kodi had tried to hold his laughter in, but the stupid look on Ralph's face was just too much to pass up. Kip grinned at Ralph, then began his moronic staccato laughter that was louder than any other member of the team. For a moment Ralph felt very alone, and very stupid. Kodi could see that his teammate didn't like being laughed at by everyone when he didn't know why they were laughing. So Kodi spoke. "Okay, I think we've all had our laugh at Ralph for today."

"Yeah we shouldn't be so mean to Ralph. He's the second best looking dog on this team." Dusty's eyes brushed across the side of Kodi's face with a certain sheen in them that could only mean one thing.

Kirby caught the look and his eyes momentarily flashed as he realized what Dusty was thinking.

"Of course I'm the first." Dusty threw in suddenly.

Kodi continued on with what he had been trying to say "What Fell was saying, is that he thinks you might have got a little bit, slower, when you hit your head as a pup."

Ralph gave Fell an angry glare that said he would eventually get Fell back. Fell just grinned.

Mr. Simpson finished readjusting the supplies in his sled so they sat just right, when he heard his dogs all begin growling together. All of them except Ralph, who looked lost and confused. Mr. Simpson watched his dogs continue growling, especially his wheel dog Kip. Then Kodi's head swung slightly and they all stopped growling at the same time. Ralph then turned and glared at Fell like he had just done something wrong. _Wonders will never cease. _Mr. Simpson thought.

With his task of adjusting gear in the sled done, Mr. Simpson moved up to his lead dogs, Kodi and Kirby, and dropped down to one knee in front of them. "You know you boys almost got us hear on time this time. Maybe next time we'll get it." Mr. Simpson said hopefully

Kodi felt good at getting the best time so far this week, yet he couldn't let it out of his mind that they were still late. Being late had the same twinge in Kodi's stomach as failing completely.

Mr. Simpson reached up to Kodi's collar and clumsily undid the strap that held him to the gang line. With his collar free, Mr. Simpson grasped the harness that rested around Kodi's neck and pulled it up over Kodi's ears and gently down his ice covered muzzle.

Kodi stretched his muscles and rounded his shoulders in their sockets as Mr. Simpson moved on to do Kirby. With the same ease as Kodi, Mr. Simpson removed the line that held Kirby to the gang line, and pulled his harness up over his shoulders.

Kirby reached his legs out in front of him and stretched his belly towards the snow. Mr. Simpson gave Kirby a quick rub across his shoulders before moving on to Ralph. In the same motion he removed Ralph's harness and tug-line. He gave Ralph a quick scratch along the side of his face and down under his jaw. "How's the foot doing Ralph?" Mr. Simpson grabbed Ralph's foot and held it up; he could see the blood, but there was nothing he could do to an open wound unless it started to get infected. Never mind the fact that Ralph had had the wound since a puppy, and never once had it been infected. Mr. Simpson set Ralph's paw down before moving on to Dusty.

He saw it without his eyes focusing on it. Dusty moved her right paw slightly to the left and kept the weight of her shoulders fully on her left foot. To Mr. Simpson it was like someone had dropped a brick in front of him. His eyes followed Dusty's slender legs down to her right paw. Before he even touched her paw, he knew exactly what was wrong. An ice ball had formed in between Dusty's second and third toe. Sure enough when Mr. Simpson picked up Dusty's foot and spread her toes, an ice ball about the size of a pea greeted him. Red sore spots, near bleeding, rested on either side of ball.

"We'll have to get some cream on this before it gets much worse." With a smooth move that Dusty hardly expected, Mr. Simpson stuck Dusty's paw into his mouth and began to chew at the ice. Usually when an ice ball got in between any of their toes Mr. Simpson would remove his gloves and remove it manually. This just felt weird.

Kirby and Ralph both began laughing uncontrollably. Kirby held his right paw to his stomach and let his nose hang just above the snow, while Ralph lay on his back kicking his back legs at the air.

"Oh come on." Dusty growled. "Like you guys don't get ice balls between your toes."

Kirby managed to let his laughter die down enough to speak. "Yeah, but we were never treated like a queen for them." Kirby threw himself into another fit of hysteria. Ralph continued crying in the snow. Kodi just grinned and watched Kirby and Ralph with mild enthusiasm.

Dusty let a grin grace her face. It was the kind of grin that went along with the eyes she had given Kodi earlier, and for a moment she seemed lost in her gaze at Kodi.

Kirby slapped Ralph across the shoulder and pointed with his paw towards Dusty. Ralph instantly stopped laughing and looked straight at Dusty. In a split second he could tell exactly what Dusty was thinking by her eyes and her grin. Both Kirby and Ralph followed her gaze to Kodi, who looked straight back at them stupidly, before looking over at Dusty.

Dusty dropped her eyes back to the top of Mr. Simpson's head the second Kodi turned to look at her. She shrugged her shoulders uncomfortably and kept her eyes low. _I hope Kirby and Ralph didn't see me do that. _She thought.

Kodi was at a loss as to what had just happened. Had it been some sort of joke on him? Or had it been on Dusty? Kodi shrugged his shoulders. What did it matter? It was just a Joke, right?

Ralph came to his feet and walked after Kirby who was already on his way to the boiler room to melt the ice off his face and get some sleep. Just before Kirby vanished down the alley he stopped and turned to Kodi. "Hey Kodi, you coming or what? Lot's of heat to spare."

Kodi had been lost in wonder at what had just happened. When Kirby spoke it brought him back to reality quite suddenly. "Ahh, yeah. Just a second." Kodi turned and looked at Dusty. "Hey Dusty, you want us to wait up for you?"

Dusty refused to make eye contact with Kodi. She kept her gaze down at Mr. Simpson and shook her head no. "No, I'll be along in a little while. Just save a warm spot for me near the boiler. Okay Kodi?"

"Sure thing Dusty."

Kodi turned and looked at Kirby and Ralph. Both of them had a huge grin on their faces like they were holding secret dog treats under their tongues and weren't going to share. Kodi walked slowly towards them. _What are they smiling at?_ He thought.

Kirby must have swallowed his treat as his smile vanished and he took a step down the alley. "Come on Kodi."

Kodi bound towards the alley and stepped in just after Kirby and Ralph. If Kodi had turned his head before going out of site of Dusty, he would have easily figured out what Kirby and Ralph were laughing and smiling at. Yet Kodi didn't see Dusty staring at him with mellow eyes as he stepped out of site.

Kodi, feeling the natural tendency to lead, pushed his way in front of Kirby and Ralph. It wasn't any dominance thing, it was just where Kodi felt he belonged when the team moved. As soon as Kodi walked in front of Kirby and Ralph he could hear them snickering to one another. _Why do they keep laughing and smiling? Is it me? _It was then that Kodi heard Kirby mention his name under his breath.

"Okay," Kodi said turning. "What is that you guys are laughing at? Is there something on my butt like before?" Kodi curled himself around and looked at his tail, it all looked the same.

"No." Kirby walked towards Kodi with a very different, and feminine, stride. He bumped his hips up and down as he walked and held his head high and his shoulders tight just like any female dog. Then in his best female voice he smiled at Kodi. "Silly."

"What are you guys doing?" Kodi asked looking at Ralph with hopes that he had yet to loose his mind.

Ralph copied Kirby's walk and strolled casually towards Kodi. Then with his deep tone female voice he spoke. "Don't tell me you don't know, Kodi."

With that both Kirby and Ralph fell down at the end of the alley laughing, leaving Kodi dumbfounded. After half a minute of them laughing and looking at him, then laughing even harder, they managed to calm down and come back to reality.

Kodi still didn't know what the two of them were laughing at, and felt like he was on the outside of some special circle of friends. "Is this some sort of, Joke about, Dusty?"

"Dusty?" Kirby said coming to his feet and looking at Kodi to see if he was serious. "This is about you."

"Me!"

"Yeah … you mean you don't know what we're laughing about?" Kirby looked dumbfounded as to how Kodi could miss all the signs. He looked to Ralph. Ralph's jaw hung slightly ajar. Both of them were amazed as to how Kodi could miss it. It was right in front of his face. Kirby stepped forward and in a hushed tone spoke. "It's Dusty man."

"The Joke's about, Dusty then?" Kodi asked with confusion all over his face and voice.

"No! It's Dusty! She likes you and you can't even see it in front of your own nose!" Kirby yelled jumping around like a puppy. Ralph jumped up and joined him as they both leapt around Kodi smiling and laughing as they started up a song.

"Dusty and Kodi sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G. First comes love, then comes marriage, then come puppies in a puppy carriage." When they finished the verse they both broke in laughter and fell into the snow besides Kodi, giggling.

If Kodi could have blushed he would have been bright red and feeling stupid. Kodi couldn't blush, but he sure did feel stupid. "Okay, okay. That's enough." Kodi said turning right down the street with hopes that they would just let it drop. "It's cold out here. Let's get inside before we freeze our tails off."

Kirby and Ralph stood up and followed Kodi. For a while they both kept quite and didn't snicker to one another. Yet Kodi knew that it wouldn't last.

Never had Kodi actually thought about Dusty in, that way. They had been friends since puppies training to be on the mail team. And as far as Kodi knew, that was all they ever were. But did Dusty like him more than a friend? Did Kirby and Ralph both see the signs that he missed? Dusty had been acting 'weird' for several weeks around Kodi. Although she had always acted weird around Kodi since they were both pups. When Kodi thought about how she had been acting recently, he realized that she had been, 'different' than normal. Had she liked him when they were young and now she was making a move on him?

Kodi led the way down the street past the third alley way to the fourth. There Kodi turned down a garbage strewn alley and out onto a flat plane. The boiler room was just ahead on the edge of the ocean down in the bowels of the gold dredge. During the winter it was kept running by the owner so the mail dogs would have a warm place to stay and sleep. Mr. Simpson didn't have a yard for his dogs so he paid a man to let them stay there. Every three days a man with a beard would come and shovel it full of coal and let it slowly heat.

Kodi lead the way across the flat plane and stopped at the door of the dredge that had scratch marks of dogs all over it. With a creak loud enough to wake the dead, Kodi pushed the door open and stepped inside.

It had been a while since Kirby and Ralph had spoke and maybe they had finally decided to let the thing about Dusty and Kodi drop. So Kodi opened his mouth. "Ah, home sweet home."

"You can't raise the pups here. Ralph lives here." Kirby joked to himself and was the only one to laugh.

"Ha ha, very funny." Ralph said turning and looking at Kodi who smiled. "I would only teach your pups all my secrets of life. Oh, especially that one way to scratch your right ear with your left leg" Ralph began to try and show Kodi his neck twisting, precariously balanced skill of reaching his left back leg up under his belly towards his right ear. It failed almost instantly as Ralph rolled onto his side and lay there looking at Kodi with a long grin across his face.

Kodi sighed and walked towards the shelf where he turned around and lay down next to an upright.

Kirby was the last one through the door and he pushed it closed with his shoulder. The door groaned shut and the steam of the cold began to dissipate from around the rafters above. "Oh Kodi, Dusty's a nice girl."

"Yeah Kodi. You know it could be worse, she could be fat." Ralph said unenthused over his shoulder in front of the boiler door where he began to melt the ice on his face.

Kodi cast a sidelong glare at Ralph before looking away from them both.

"Ah Kodi." Kirby walked over beside Kodi and lay down. "There's nothing to be ashamed about when feeling that special thing for a girl. And personally, I think you should end your bachelor life and settle down with her."

"What?"

"I think that you should know me and Ralph have been thinking about this for a long time -"

"We have?" Ralph said turning.

"Zip it Ralph, I'm trying to help Kodi here." Kirby barked. Ralph turned his face back towards the stove as a piece of ice fell. "Anyway, as I was saying, you and Dusty should settle up together. I can tell that you two are good for each other, even if you don't see it."

Kodi sighed angrily and came to his feet to get away. "I don't think I need you to tell me what is good for me. I'm a littler older than I appear."

"I know that Kodi. But you certainly don't seem to act like it."

Kodi growled bitterly and walked a good ten feet towards the door before lying down again with a grunt. Kirby let the room grow quiet for a while before standing and walking towards Kodi to go for round two.

"Listen Kodi." Kirby said standing above him. "We just want to know if you like her."

"Yeah," Ralph turned away from the stove. The ice on his face had melted away and the fur around his eyes and down his muzzle was wet. "So we can tell her."

"Ralph, you're not helping in any way at all." Kirby growled over his shoulder. "So either zip it and sit down, or try and actually help."

"Hey, I thought I was helping."

Kodi sighed and looked at them both. "Listen, I'm flattered that you two want to help me, but I would prefer to just … not do anything. Me and Dusty are friends"

"Oh come on Kodi! Not do anything? You can't be serious? Dusty is nuts about you. We just want to know if you think the same thing about her."

Kodi remained silent as Kirby stared straight at him waiting for an answer. After several seconds of staring coldly at one another Kirby spoke up again. "So Kodi, do you like her?"

"Yeah, come on Kodi, just tell us. I was only kidding when I said that thing about telling her." Ralph pleaded.

Kodi sighed, "You guys, listen. I don't want, or need, your help. So could we just move on to another subject?"

"Don't need our help?" Kirby scoffed, stepping back and away. He then turned back. "Listen Kodi, I know all about this. You may say you don't need our help but you do. You need to realize this. I know that if me and Ralph don't do something, you won't."

Kodi slowly rose to his feet. "What are you saying? Are you saying that I'm not dog enough to talk to Dusty?"

Kirby thought on the question for a moment. "Well, yeah. Kodi, you have a terribly time with girls."

"I do not." Kodi growled.

Ralph stepped in between Kirby and Kodi. "Kodi, you do. I can talk to girls way easier than you can. Remember when we just started running the mail, and that one red and black German Shepard named Shanene from White Mountain. She was beautiful. But Kodi, do you remember what you did when she began talking to you?"

"Well, er … I was younger then."

Kirby stepped up next to Ralph. "Kodi, you barfed on her."

"I had had some bad fish that morning and I wasn't feeling well." Kodi lied.

"Kodi, she asked you five questions in a minute, and you weren't able to answer a single one. You kept muttering and laughing under your breath." Kirby said with the voice of accusation.

"So!" Kodi raised his voice. "Maybe I just didn't like her and wanted her to get away from me."

"So you vomited on her paws?" Kirby said

"Yes! I mean no, I mean I did, but, it was an accident." The frustration rose in Kodi like a stream flooding over the banks of a small creek. At any moment Kodi knew his frustration would flood the old farmhouse in the field, and he would hardly be responsible for what he said.

"Yeah an accident caused because of your lack of courage when facing the opposite sex." Kirby growled sarcastically and Ralph grinned remembering the face of pure horror Kodi made after vomiting on Shanene.

It was at that moment that the door's into the farmhouse basement flooded through with frustration and anger. Kodi could feel it rushing into his veins. It was like a bloodlust a wild animal would feel when penned in with hundreds of defenseless sheep. It was a need to attack and lash out for no apparent reason on no apparent target. But Kodi had a target and a reason to lash out and drain his veins of the toxin that held him. He just didn't realize at the time that his temper might get him in some hot flooded water.

"Okay. You want to know what I think about Dusty."

Both Kirby and Ralph shook their heads yes and looked at Kodi for what was to continue.

"Well I'll tell you about her right after I tell you about yourselves. You two are the most childish friends I could have. All you two ever do is giggle about stupid stuff and meddle in things you shouldn't: Like what I think of others. Kirby, you're a lousy leader and so blinded by your own self indulgence that you can't see the tree for the forest." Kirby lowered his brow to Kodi and Ralph laughed. "And Ralph, you are so stupid, so low on brains all you're running on is fumes. I personally think Kip, has more brain power than you do at times." Ralph lowered his head in shame and anger as a groan echoed through the room. "Now you want me to tell you what I think about Dusty to get both of you off my back. I think Dusty is one of the ugliest females I have ever seen. When she joined the team I couldn't even tell which way she was running. And if you two think you want to get me and Dusty together, forget it. I would never be caught dead with someone as repulsive to my eyes, as her."

Kodi let his breath return to his lungs as he stared into Ralph and Kirby's eyes. The anger in his veins had settled and the imaginary creek had returned to it's banks. It was then that Kodi noticed the look on Ralph and Kirby's faces. Both of their eyes were full of shock and awe, as were their drooping jaws, at the words that had just come out of their leader's mouth. They new he had pushed to far.

It was then that Kodi realized a presence stood behind him, a shadow across the room, a very real cold running up his spine and consuming his back legs. Kodi rolled his eyes and turned around. "Dus-"

Kodi heard the sound of feet scampering away with sobs and tears flooding the owners face. In the door Fell and Kip stood set apart looking straight in at Kodi. Dusty had been standing in between them when she heard Kodi say all the bad things about her that weren't true. Kip grinned stupidly and smiled. "Ugly." he laughed at himself. Kodi's eyes moved over to Fell. Fell's accusing eyes made Kodi feel like an ant under a magnifying glass. "Not a proper thing to verbalize." Fell shook his head

Kodi lowered his eyes from his teammates; he felt lower than mud and twice as ugly. With his tale tucked between his legs he turned to the back corner of the room. He passed by Kirby and Ralph, not a bit of energy or hope left in him to seek answers in the ones he had just insulted so horribly. With a sigh he laid himself down in the corner far away from his friends. That was if they still considered him a friend.

Kirby and Ralph both looked at each other gravely. In a way they both felt that it had somehow been their fault. They had egged Kodi on until he snapped at them. Though they didn't expect him to do what he did. So the blame for what happened couldn't rest fully on Kodi's shoulders, could it?

Dusty ran. She had no idea where she was running to or to what purpose it would have. All she knew was that she needed to get far away from Kodi and his words that hurt her so much. Her face was stained with tears that flowed freely and began to freeze on the fur of her muzzle. Her eyes stung bitterly in the wind that battered her face as she ran. _Why had he said such things about me? Does he do this behind my back often? _There was an actual physical pain in her chest where her heart rested. She knew it to be her heart breaking and cutting her insides. So long she had held the same heart, and now like a window that a baseball had gone through, she felt broken.

Jenna, a beautiful red and cream colored husky, much like her son Kodi, stepped easily through the hard packed streets, her fur bristled against the cold. Yet all the fur on her body couldn't alleviate the cold that came up through her paws. She had only been out of the house for three minutes to take a stroll down to Dixie's house and see how her first litter of pups were doing, and her paws hurt like she had walked across a field of glass. How her mate, Balto, or her son Kodi, were able to put up with all the hard snow and ice for long periods of time was a mystery to her.

A sudden silver flash came out of the alley in front of Jenna, and bolted into another one just across the way. The creature had been sobbing and crying at the top of her voice and lung capacity.

At first Jenna stood still, a shock to the senses coming slowly through her. _Was that Dusty?_ Jenna turned and looked down the alley the silver flash had vanished into from the other side of the street near the alley she had come out of. A ten foot tall fence blocked the end of the alley and garbage, and boxes, and pieces of a bicycle, and metal lined the sides of the street, so unless the silver flash had gone over the fence, she was hiding somewhere back there.

Jenna padded easily to the edge of the alley. "Dusty?" She called. "Is that you Dusty?" No answer returned, only silence. Jenna gulped and stepped into the dark alley. On her right wood boxes that said things like: 'DYNAMITE,' 'FRAGILE,' 'HANDLE WITH CARE 'and' CANNED PRUNES' stood out. They stood ten or twelve high, two deep, and five long. All of them stacked in perfect order and neatness. On Jenna's left the rusty metal of an abandoned bicycle leaned against the gray siding of another building. Under the bicycle, where the tires should have been, a snow covered pile of jagged metal stuck out with pricks and points and smooth rounded pieces. Further into the alley Jenna pushed, her eyes scanning left and right across garbage that had been ripped from a paper bag. It looked as though it had been thrown there recently by the lack of snow across it. Then Jenna heard the sobbing. It came low; a sound of sudden pain, followed by a repercussion of the same sounds gradually growing fainter. "Dusty?"

There was a gasp of shock and horror from the back far corner behind a lidless garbage can next to the fence. Jenna's eyes picked up the twitch of an ear moving just over the top edge of the lidless garbage. "Dusty?"

"Go away." Dusty sobbed.

Jenna padded yet closer until she was on the other side of the garbage. She sat and looked over at Dusty's ears that twitched as she sobbed. Jenna spoke. "What's wrong Dusty?"

"Nothing." Dusty sucked air through his nose producing a loud gurgling of flem in her throat. "Nothing, that you … you, would understand." She sobbed.

Jenna thought. "Well … maybe I won't understand, yet maybe I can help point you in the right direction, or give you some consoles."

Dusty turned her head and peeked her red eyes over the garbage can. As soon as Jenna looked at them Dusty turned away so only her ears were visible again. "No, I, I don't want … no." She sobbed. "I just need some time, to myself, to think things through."

Jenna sighed deeply and looked up at the edge of the roof on the building across the alley from her. She looked with the look of hope that said the answers to everything might be there. "Dusty. You're a strong girl. One of the strongest I've ever met." Dusty peered over the edge of the can at Jenna. Jenna knew she was looking at her, but didn't mover her eyes off the edge of roof. "I mean, when you were young your mother and me would get together with all our pups so we could have some girl time, and you kids could have friends to play with. I remember you. Whenever the boys found something that looked a little to scary for them to try, you were right there walking along the edge of that banister, talking to the pit-bulls on the street, or crawling into the hole under the house after a skunk." A sound came from Dusty. Jenna thought it might have been a chuckle. "I knew you were going to be doing something I would never have dreamed of. You were never quite comfortable playing with the girls. They always wanted to groom each other, and look good, and talk about boys. You wanted adventure and lots of it." Jenna sighed and looked at Dusty. Dusty had already lowered her head behind the can and out of sight. "But Dusty, that strength to want adventure put you in a male dog's world with a female dogs mind. I can tell because you cry, you think you're weak. But Dusty, you're a female and you need time to cry; and I think you need someone to help you get your emotions out whenever you need to. You need someone who will keep a secret and help you choose the right paths when they come. Someone who is a little girly." Jenna giggled. "So Dusty, I would like to try and help you, if you would let me."

Everything that Jenna had said was true. Dusty did feel stupid and weak for crying. She didn't have any friends who were really girly and would talk about feelings, or how they looked, and which boys looked good. And she especially didn't have any friends that would keep a secret about anything. Right now, she felt she needed that. She wanted to open her soul and let all of her emotions flood out.

"So Dusty, do you want me to help you?" Jenna asked again, looking straight over the empty can at Dusty's ears.

Dusty slowly raised her head. Tiny blood vessels ran bright red around the sides of her crying sore eye. Frozen drops of tears clung to her muzzle. And her face looked broken and tired, frazzled to the very soul.

When Jenna saw Dusty look over at her she knew the answer was yes. Jenna came to her feet and moved around the can until she saw Dusty in full. She sat back against the side of the can, her gray shoulders slumped over herself in a pitiful manner with her head hung low between them. "Come on Dusty, let's see that face." Jenna said with her best mother-sounding tone

Dusty let Jenna's words take her. She slowly lifted her muzzle and let her soul be bared to her closest, 'friend'.

Jenna smiled and stepped even closer to Dusty and began licking at the frozen tears. Dusty let her do it without hesitation; she felt she needed to be cleaned up. When Jenna finished she moved to Dusty's right side and sat down with her back against the building so they could speak with the comfort of not having look each other in the eyes. "So Dusty, can you tell me what happened?"

Dusty sighed deep; a sob huffed up in the middle of it. "I don't know if I should."

"Why?"

"Because it has to do with your son Kodi."

"Kodi!" Jenna half shouted. "What happened with Kodi?"

Dusty didn't know how she could explain everything that happened and why she was crying so pitifully. The words came to her and vanished. "Well … it started … I … Kodi was … It was in the boiler room …" Dusty finally just turned her head and looked straight into Jenna's eyes.

Jenna looked into her eyes and could see it gradually dawning upon her. She could see the pain that Dusty was feeling like it was her own. She could see it in her tears. Someone had hurt her really badly in the emotional area.

"It was Kodi." Dusty said coldly.

Jenna sighed, "Oh no. what happened with Kodi? Did he say something?"

Dusty sighed sadly and looked away. "Well, it's a little more than that."

"Do you have a crush on my Kodi?" Jenna said going out on a limb to see if it was true.

"I might have at one point." Dusty sobbed and turned her head full away.

"Dusty." Jenna brought Dusty's attention full to her. "I need you to tell me everything that happened."

Once again the words in Dusty came and vanished. "I … It was … when … Mr. Simpson first …" Dusty looked away disgusted with her inability to tell the story.

"Take your time Dusty." Jenna nuzzled her nose into Dusty's shoulder to give her courage.

Dusty glanced at Jenna before moving on. "Mr. Simpson had found an ice-ball between my toes and kept me a little later so he could put some cream on it. When Fell, Kip, and Myself headed for the boiler room we heard Kodi speaking angrily. We joked that Ralph had done something. When I opened the door Kodi stood with his back to me. He was." Dusty began to break down as tears stained her fur again and her eyes became bloodshot and red. "He … was … telling Ralph and Kirby, how ugly I was … and how he … couldn't, tell my front from my back … and he, was saying that he, hates me … and that he would never be caught dead with someone … as … horrible as … me." 'Me,' finished with a high pitch wail as Dusty fell forward into the snow crying at full potency.

Jenna could hardly believe what she had just heard. Her son, Kodi, had said all of those things behind Dusty's back, especially when Dusty liked Kodi? Jenna felt anger filling her veins. She wanted nothing more than at that moment to leave Dusty and go give Kodi his fair share of tongue lashings. Who had taught Kodi to talk, or even think, about others in that way? Balto was too much of a nice guy to do such a thing, and Jenna certainly hadn't taught him anything like that. Could it have just been something inside Kodi? No it couldn't have been. Kodi was much nicer and kinder than that. Yet if Dusty said he did, he most likely had. Jenna grinded her teeth together, as soon as she got Dusty on her feet she would head straight to Kodi and give him something he soon wouldn't forget.

Dusty wailed as loud as a bear with a broken leg and the other caught in a trap. Jenna set her paw onto Dusty's back and slid it up and down her muscular spine. Even though Dusty was strong in body, she was weak in feelings.

Suddenly Dusty sat bolt upright and looked straight at Jenna. "You can't say anything to Kodi."

"What?"

"You can't say anything, nothing at all, to Kodi. I don't want him to know I said this to you." Dusty said.

"Dusty." Jenna shook her head. "I don't know if I -"

"A secret." Dusty cut in on Jenna. "A secret. Please, just keep it a secret from Kodi. That's all. I just don't want you to go and tell Kodi that I came and talked to you."

Even though Jenna wanted nothing more than to rip into her own son, a secret was a secret and it couldn't be broken to someone so knew to the area of close friends. Jenna bowed her head. "Okay." She said quietly. "I won't talk to Kodi."

Dusty smiled and threw her face into Jenna's shoulder where she kept crying pitifully. But Dusty hadn't said anything about getting someone else to talk to Kodi about what he had done.


	2. Dixie's Pup's

**Chapter 2**

"Jenna, you're late." Dixie said taking her eyes off of her five young pups suckling at her belly. "What took you so long? I expected you an hour ago."

Jenna pushed quickly through the extra large shed door with locks, bolts, nails and screws that served to secure the door shut long ago when Dixie and Jenna didn't even exist. None of them were fastened now and they all rattled as Jenna turned and shouldered the door shut with a jangle. The steam dissipated from the rafters and floor as soon as she did. "I ran into a little … delay." Jenna turned and looked at Dixie sitting pretty in an extra large basket. Next to her stood her mate and father of her children Star. He stood with a tall chest and proud grin on his face waiting for Jenna to approve of his pups. "It's so cold out there." Jenna said moving slowly across the room towards the stove that sat under the frosted window near Dixie. She sat down near it.

"Yeah, well, I haven't been outside in a while. I feel my pups are just too young to sit by themselves just yet. Is it cold outside honey bunny Star?"

"Well, yeah it is, I think. Do you want me to check?" Star said quickly with the look of a young dog being a good father. Even though he was already getting along in years, he still had spryness to his voice, and sometimes his actions.

"No, No, that's fine. I believe Jenna." Dixie turned back to Jenna. "So what was the delay about?"

Jenna sighed and stretched her paws out on the wooden floor. "Oh just some problems with one of my kids, that's all." She shook her head dismally.

"Dakota." Dixie and Star said at the same time without thought or eagerness. It hadn't even been a question; it was just an answer.

"No …" Jenna said wondering why they would instantly accuse Dakota, even though he was the trouble one. Jenna shook her head slowly. "It wasn't Dakota."

"It wasn't?" Dixie said mildly taken aback. "Then who was it?"

"Yeah." Star added in.

For a moment Jenna thought she should tell them the story. Maybe they would have some words of advice. Yet Jenna couldn't take a chance on Dixie and her loose mouth. But what harm would telling them the one who did it. "Well … it was Kodi."

"Kodi!" Dixie yelled. Two of her pups squeaked in fear and began swimming through their brothers and sister to find safety. Dixie and Star both looked down at their pups to see what was wrong with them. "We should keep our voices down." Dixie said in a hushed tone as she turned both of her pups back around to face her belly. They both found a comfy spot to rest and were quiet once again.

"Kodi, but, isn't he the good one?" Star asked leaning forward so Jenna could hear him better.

"Well, that's what I thought. I couldn't believe it either. But when Dusty came cry -" Jenna winced as if stabbed, she had said too much.

"What did Kodi do to Dusty?" Dixie asked.

Jenna sighed, there was really no choice but to go and finish the story and hope both of them could keep their mouths shut. "Well Dixie, I was on my way over here when I met Dusty crying. And you know how much of a tomboy Dusty is. She needed help, so I talked with her, and I promised her that I wouldn't tell anyone that I had met her crying. It was her first real girl time so we need to keep this a secret or else I'll loose her confidence in me, and I don-"

"- Don't say any more." Dixie raised her paw. "I know not to spread any secrets, especially when it's a first secret and you need to keep her confidence." Dixie then looked at Star. "So you need to keep it a secret from your friends. Got it Star? Whatever is said in this room stays in this room."

Star shook his head jubilantly. "Yes snookums."

Dixie turned back to Jenna and leaned her head in closer. "So have you talked to Kodi about it, got his side of the story? You never know, it might just be an accident."

Jenna rolled her eyes scornfully, "I'm sure Kodi has another story. It will probably go along the lines of something like 'I didn't say that.'"

"Well you never know." Star threw in. "Maybe it would be good to get his side of the story."

Jenna growled when she remembered the promise about not talking to Kodi.

"Well, err, um … maybe it isn't a good idea to, you know, get Kodi's story. Huh, Huh." Star retracted his answer timidly after Jenna growled so angrily.

"No Star. I'm not growling at you. It's another one of Dusty's promises. I can't go and talk to Kodi about it."

"Just you?" Dixie asked.

Jenna winked at both Star and Dixie. "Yeah, just me. But Dusty never said I couldn't get Balto to go and talk to Kodi."

Dixie and Star both grinned.

"So when are you going to go get Balto to talk to Kodi?" Dixie said.

"I'm probably going to go talk to Balto tomorrow after the mail team leaves. That way at least I'll have time to think about what to say to Balto, and Balto will have time to think about what he's going to say to Kodi." Jenna said matter-of-factly.

"Say Jenna." Star spoke up. "Where is Balto? I haven't seen him since the cold settled in."

Jenna rolled her eyes. "Don't get me started on another problem. He's currently hibernating for an indefinite amount of time. Someone should go out there and shake his lazy bones."

"Where?" Star asked.

"Out on his boat of course. I don't see how he can stand that cold. I mean just walking over here nearly killed me." Jenna joked to lighten the mood. "But come on. Let's forget this problem and get on to your pups."

Stars puffed his chest out and raised his head high to show his proud father look. Dixie grinned and they all looked at the pups. "Well here they are." Dixie said not really knowing what to say beyond the simple introduction.

Jenna looked closely at the pups. The five of them looked peaceful and completely innocent of anything. Jenna had a flash of her pups when they were that young. _Why couldn't they just be like that forever?_ There were two light silvery looking ones with dark faces and floppy ears. While the other three had the flat plane colors like Star with stripes down their backs and ridged ears like Dixie's "So who are the boys, and who are the girls?"

Dixie put her paw carefully on the back of each of the three who looked alike with the ridged ears. "Well these three are girls -"

Star put his paw on the other two with floppy ears. "-And these two are boys." Star and Dixie grinned at each other very romantically. Jenna felt slightly awkward with all the romantic looks shooting between them. _I wish Balto was here with me so I didn't feel like a third party. _

"So what are their names?" Jenna said to cut the mood.

Both Dixie and Star looked at Jenna as if they were completely shocked to have her in their company.

"Well, err-" Star stumbled.

Dixie stepped in to rescue her mate. "We haven't named them quite yet. We're going to wait until they're a little bit older and have a personality so the name fits them."

"Ahh," Jenna shook her head comprehending the thought process to their plan. "That sounds like a good idea. Balto and I just had some nice sounding names to give our boys and girls. Fortunately they grew into the names we gave them." Jenna smiled and received the same smiles back.

A long quiet moment filled the little shed with the one frosted window and personal electric heater for Dixie and her puppies. "Well. I better get going and let you two tend to your pups." Jenna stood up on her warmer slender legs. "I got to go and start thinking about what I got to do with my pups."

"Well okay Jenna. I wish you could stay longer, but." Dixie looked at her brood. "Family calls."

Jenna grinned at Dixie and walked towards the shed door. Around the inside handle hung a red rag that served to open the door for dogs trying to get out. Jenna grasped the rag in her teeth and pulled lightly at the door. It swung open with jingling and jangling before Jenna stepped out.

With a whirl she turned back around and stuck her head in through the slightly ajar door. Star had lowered his shoulder and head and was sticking his nose down next to one of his pups hidden to Jenna by the edge of the basket. "Oh yeah Star. They look good." Star raised his head and grinned stupidly.

"Thanks." He muttered

"Now could you close the door before the chill gets in?" Jenna grinned.

"Sure." Star came to his feet and walked towards the door. With a shove of his shoulder the door shut and jingled.

Jenna stood for a moment looking at the door thinking about how her pups had been when they were young. They had been nothing more than defenseless little bundles of joy suckling at her belly in the shed behind her master's house. She grinned as a thought came across her mind. _I'll have to see if Balto would like to have some more pups._ Then at a quickened pace, Jenna made her way back to her master's home to think about what she would tell Balto tomorrow after the team left.


	3. The Alaska 500

**Chapter 3**

The day wore on with little else happening anywhere in, or around the town. When the grey light in the sky settled down into a inky blackness, night began it's rule; and with night came the gentle wind, and stifling snow that would come as a surprise to some in the morning. The only good in the night came in the form of lights above the clouds which gave the entire land, from the mountains north of Nome, down to the end of the pack ice some two hundred miles to the south, a hue of red thsy gradually changed to blue, then green, and finally back to red again.

As the night settled around Nome, lanterns were lit inside homes to eek their light out onto the streets through frosty windows. For the most part they provided much of the light needed in the streets of Nome, though the northern lights gave off a fair share. Nevertheless a lone scraggly man came around the town through the darkness, dressed to the teeth to bare the cold. In his gloves he pulled a sled full of lit lanterns. On every corner the lone man would stop, take a lantern from his sled, and hang it high on a hook on top of a metal pole with the aid of a long stick that he carried in his hand. In the morning he would return and remove the empty lanterns to refill and hang up again in the night.

As the lone man passed down the dark street with his sled in tow, aiming his body for the end of the street where another pole stood without a lantern, he passed a place where a meeting was being conducted in a squat log cabin where wisps of smoke came from the chimney. The cabin was old and had parts of it repaired at different times of different years as needed. A new log stuck out here, an old one that would soon need to be replaced here. The roof had been rebuilt during the previous summer when the mayor decided to put his own money into it. The politicians down in the lower forty-eight didn't see the need to send five hundred dollars up to repair a leaking building that wasn't even in their own territory.

Inside the building a wide stove that could easily heat the whole cabin burned at the front near the door and the street. A large pile of wood sat next to it on a steel stand that held half a cord of wood; enough for an entire month. For the most part the room was empty. Only empty chairs filled the room in a semi-organized fashion by a person who had no care as to how they looked. He knew he would have to pick them up tomorrow, so what did it matter how they were arranged.

Only three people came to the meeting besides the Mayor and the Telegraph Operator; only two of them to voice their concerns and worries. One was Mr. Scads, an old man who had come to Nome on the very first steamer and had helped put up the cabin he stood in. The other was Mrs. Tussle who worked everyday in the church on one thing or another for long hours of each day. Behind her sat her husband with his arms crossed watching everybody without a hint of enthusiasm. The only reason he was here was because his wife forced him. Behind the desk Mayor George Neil, a portly fellow who enjoyed chewing cigars down instead of smoking them, leaned back in his personal rocking chair taking everything in. Next to him stood the Telegraph Operator like a beat-down slave ready to do any bidding his master commanded. A lantern on the desk illuminated them all, along with three lanterns strung down the center of the cabin at equal distances. The meeting had been going on for some time already.

Mrs. Tussle leaned forward over the desk with her thin hands stretched out in front of her. "What can we do? I mean, the cold is the cause of this, and there's nothing that we can do about the cold unless you can change the weather. What we nee-"

Mr. Scads removed his hand from under his beard where he had been resting it and set it on the edge of the cherry wood desk. "-We're not here to decide what we can't change. We know we can't change the weather or how cold it is. I mean Nome has always been cold in the winter. Truthfully I don't think there's much of a problem. Ten years ago when we had no sheriff and the cold settled in for two weeks, half the town burned and three hundred people died. Of course it was mostly tents and men then, but I mean it's just a little cold. It can't stay forever, right?" He chuckled halfheartedly.

Mrs. Tussle looked right at Mr. Scads. "Mr. Scads. This has nothing to do with what happened ten years ago when this was a godless providence. This is about now. We are a civilized people who are ripping ourselves apart at home. Men are yelling at women and children, women are yelling at men and children, and everybody is yelling at everybody. It seems that everyone is forgetting the bible. Love thy family, and thy neighbor." She spoke with an edge of dissatisfaction in her voice.

"Well what do you suppose we do? Open prayer? No offence to your god or anything, but I don't think god has anything to do with this. It's plain and simple, it's just cabin fever. We need to get the people out of the homes and away from each other. And personally, I don't think many people will come out for god." Mr. Scads said flatly.

"Mr. Scads. You are a filthy pig." Mrs. Tussle turned her nose up and away angrily.

Mr. Scads remained quiet for a long while. He stared straight at Mrs. Tussle to see if she was serious. After ten full seconds of staring at her he started laughing at the top of his breath. "You are so in love with god."

Mrs. Tussle dropped her jaw in shock. "Well, at least I'm not taking advantage of women who have nothing but their flesh." She turned away to see if her insult sunk in.

Mr. Scads' shrugged his shoulders. "Eh, what are you going to do?"

Mrs. Tussle turned and pointed her finger at Mr. Scads in shock. "I'll tell you what I'm going to do, I'm going to personally see to it that god himself doesn't let you even look at the pearly gates. It will be straight to Satan for you."

Mr. Scads shrugged his shoulders again. "At least it'll be warm."

Mrs. Tussle sighed begrudgingly and rolled her eyes. She turned back to the mayor. "What I'm saying is that we need something that will bring families together, show them how much they actually love one another, and show them how much they love there neighbors. We need something to show the power and love of god can concur all"

George Neil removed the stub of a cigar from his mouth. "So what are your ideas for making that happen?"

Mrs. Tussle leaned back in her chair. "Well, I'm not quite sure what kind of program we could do. We could have a potluck with three legged races, and pie eating contests, and a polar bear swim - no no, there would be nudity in that and we can't have that"

Mr. Scads threw his arms up in the air and let them come back down and slap his thighs. "Oh sure, take all the fun out of everything why don't you."

"Mr. Scads I am not taking the fun out of anything. We cannot have nudity in a family gathering. We could require that everyone have a swimsuit?"

Mr. Scads bored straight into Mrs. Tussle with his eyes. "How many people, in Nome Alaska, do you think, even own a swimsuit?"

Mrs. Tussle shook her head and shrugged her shoulders and her hands up as high as her chin. "Well I don't know Mr. Scads. Maybe it doesn't need to be a swimsuit, maybe people can cut down their pants and women can wear their husband's pants and a thick shirt."

Mr. Scads looked at Mrs. Tussle coldly, with eyes that asked the obviouse. "You can't be serious?"

Mrs. Tussle shook her head positively yes.

Mr. Scads looked at the Mayor. "Are you seriously listening to this? This is foolish."

George Neil removed the cigar from his mouth and pointed it at Mr. Scads. "Well, you haven't come up with any better ideas."

Mr. Scads turned bitterly and grabbed his parka from the back of his chair and began to fumble his arms into the sleeves. "Well I sure am not going to sit around here and listen to how the worshiper of god or Jesus, or whatever, is going to save this town." He finished putting his arms into his parka and began to fumble with the large zipper. Mr. Scads threw his accusing finger at Mrs. Tussle. "Because if I wanted to do that, I would go to church and listen to her speak. But I will tell you something Mayor." His finger moved to the Mayor "It isn't god that will save this town. It will be something big. If the Alaska 500 hadn't been stopped two years back, I'm sure that would save the town." Mr. Scads finished putting on his coat and turned towards the door.

"Wait." George Neil came to his feet and stood behind his desk. "What did you say?"

Mr. Scads turned. "I said, if the Alaska 500 were still around it would sure end this depression."

"That's it." George Neil slapped his hands together with an echoing clap.

Mr. Tussle unlocked his arms from around his chest and leaned forward in his chair.

George Neil moved swiftly when he had an idea in mind, and this idea certainly had him moving. From the flat-bottomed desk drawer he pulled a stub of a pencil and moved, with the looks of it, without using his legs, to a map of the peninsula of Alaska on the wall to the right side of his desk. "Okay, we're here." George Neil put his finger on Nome. "And White Mountain is here." With a slicing motion he drug the pencil across the map from Nome to White Mountain. "Now," George Neil Moved his left hand up to a dot on the map several inches straight north of Nome. "And North Peak Gold mine is here." With an upside down checkmark motion he connected White Mountain, to North Peak, and finally back down to Nome. With a whirl George Neal turned to face his speculative audience. "The Return, of the Alaska, 500." He moved his right hand across the air where an imaginary headline on newsprint would be, speaking each word exceedingly.

From beside Mrs. Tussle, Mr. Tussle slowly stood. "So would there be betting on this race?" Mrs. Tussle turned with a start and threw her delicate hand into her husband's stomach. Mr. Tussle bent over, gave his wife a bitter look, then sat.

George Neil snapped his fingers on his right hand and pointed at Mr. Tussle. "Yes, of course. It will be a boost to the economy, and it will be a boost to general moral in the town."

"Now wait just a minute." Mrs. Tussle stood up. "Gambling and races? The Bible would disgrace on this. We need something without sin."

George Neil looked straight at Mrs. Tussle like he had been listening to everything she had said and taken it all into account. He then turned to the Telegraph Operator who still stood behind his desk. "I want you to start printing up some flyers for the town. Have them say something like …" George Neil snapped his finger in effort to think of something.

"The Return of the Alaska 500." The Telegraph Operator suggested.

"Yes, yes, that's good. We will have it four weeks from tomorrow at sunrise. That should give plenty of time for racers to enter. Now the entry fee will be five hundred dollars. And the grand prize will be one- no two- no, five thousand dollars; that should get racers to enter. Right?"

There was an agreeing nod through the building, everyone except Mrs. Tussle who sat with her arms crossed.

The Telegraph Operator raised his hand up. George Neil pointed at him to speak. "What if there is no sunrise that day?"

"Yes, we will then have it at ten in the morning. Now why aren't you writing this down?"

The Telegraph Operator grabbed for his left chest pocket with his right hand and pulled out a pad of paper and pencil. He began scribbling down notes with speed.

George Neil turned and began to make a pacing motion in front of the map and his audience. "Now we will need to dig up the rule book for the race; I'm sure I have a copy of that in my desk." He pointed towards the desk. "Also we will need to find the Golden Collar for the leader of the winner; I do not know where that has gone. The last time I knew it was around the neck of that husky, Steely, I believe."

Mr. Tussle stood up. "It's in the White-room Bar on the wall near the piano"

Mrs. Tussle turned and hit her husband in the stomach. "That place is full of sin of loose women."

"Would you quit hitting me!" Mr. Tussle sat.

"Now." George Neil turned to the Telegraph Operator in his pacing. "I need you to send the word out. I need it sent out tonight if possible. You make up the message, something catchy, you're good with that. I want it to be seen all over, from Juneau, to Barrow, and all the way over to Dawson. I want this to make it into the papers down south. Now for the gambling." George Neil turned in mid pace. "We will have a board put up in the street right in front of this building. It will have who is in the lead and at what times he last left the checkpoint, updated minute to minute as it is happening"

"Where will we have the banquet, if we have more mushers? We won't have a place big enough to hold them." Mr. Scads asked stepping back towards his chair.

"Well yes, I suppose that woul-"

"-Are we seriously considering this?" Mrs. Tussle stood up. "Gambling and greed? There is no god in this. Our local Reverend Jonathan Frill will frown on this. I will bring him to speak with you about this personally George."

"Yes!" George Neil snapped at Mrs. Tussle. "Bring him, that is a wonderful idea. We can have the banquet in the church."

"No!" Mrs. Tussle shouted. "We will not have the meeting of sin in the church of god."

George paused for her comment, then spoke up as if she hadn't even existed. "Yes, the church would hold at least one hundred and fifty mushers if we put some tables up. We can get the school to donate tables"

Mrs. Tussle stared angrily at George Neil. "Who say's reverend Frill would ever allow you to have this in his church?" She said snobbishly.

"Because." George Neil grinned. "He owes me one in a card game he lost."

"Reverend Frill does not gamble." Mrs. Tussle said heated in the throws of frustration

"Tell that to anyone who frequents the White-room Bar. He's always in there. Most of the time he's upstairs with Lindy, he owes her lots of money." George Neil said matter-of-factly.

"I do not believe it." Mrs. Tussle said turning her nose away.

"So," George Neil set his fat hands on the desk, with the pencil and cigar in his right hand. "We need to get the golden collar, and we need to get the word out."

"Wait." Mrs. Tussle threw up her hand to stop everything. "I want this put to a vote."

"Okay," George stood and raised his right hand. "Everybody for the race idea raise their hand."

Across the room hands flew up. Mrs. Tussle looked around with her arms securely folded in her lap. Everybody but her had their hands raised; even her husband. With a smack across his rib cage Mr. Tussle dropped his hand. When his wife looked away again he raised it meekly.

"Well then it's settled." George grinned. "The race will be four weeks from tomorrow. The Alaska 500 returns. Now we have much planning to do"

A laugh and cheer moved about the cabin so swiftly, and with such force, that the old man who made his way down the street with his empty sled could hear it clearly in the frozen arctic night.


	4. Kodi's Apology

**Chapter 4 **

Morning came to Nome much like night, in a haze of darkness and cold. Even though the clocks in all the homes on the mantles and in the dining rooms read 6:32 A.M. the outside world might have as well been a dark cold hole in the earth from which only the distant light of the stars entered. On any other day at this time the men would be slipping from their beds and putting on their cloths for the days work, and their wives would be busy cooking breakfast for their husband and children. At the same time the children would be growling under their blankets at having to wake and do chores before school. But those days seemed long ago since the cold had fallen on the land, and this morning was far from warm enough for a day of work, chores, or school.

Even with the icy cold temperatures, drifting snows, pitch black night; one team of dogs stood in their traces in front of a sled full of outgoing mail with a directional lantern tied atop. They were ready to begin a hard day of work while braving the cold and darkness between Nome and White Mountain. Behind the sled Mr. Simpson stood uneasily on his left, then right foot, each time letting his boots crunch down into the snow noisily. His gentle movement of his feet had begun to take on the form of an angry pace. _Where's that Kodi? It's not like him to be late. Do I need to start tying him up and taking him home with me so he won't run off?_ Mr. Simpson thought as he moved back and forth, his dogs watching him to see what he would do about their missing teammate at the lead. All of them except Dusty who looked at Kodi's empty traces in front of her disgustedly.

Meanwhile halfway across the town, a young cream and rust colored male husky sat facing the side of a snow spattered building quietly whispering to himself in the darkness. "Dusty. I really want to just say … No, no, that doesn't sound right." Kodi shifted his paws and cleared his throat. "Hey Dusty, it's me Kodi … no, that's even worse, she knows who I am … Dusty, I just want to say that, I'm truly, deeply, utterly regretting what I said about you earlier, you're not really that bad looking – OH!" Kodi turned away from the building, frustrated that he couldn't come up with a better apology. "If only she knew that I wasn't thinking about her when I said those things. Well, I guess I was thinking of her when I said them, but I wasn't, not in that … oh." Kodi growled at himself and let his apology attempt stop for right now, besides, maybe Dusty still needed some cool-down time before an apology would even have the slightest chance with her?

Kodi turned away from the building and began to swagger slowly down the back-alley through the thick snow he had been sitting in towards the post office. "I wonder how late I am." Kodi said glancing towards the grey-black clouds that had the slight pinhole lights of stars etching through their thick covering. It didn't help him tell how late he was. "Well." Kodi said stopping and looking around the street at the end of the alley he had been trying to formulate his request for forgiveness in. "I'm going to suppose that I'm late."

Kodi usually spent all his time with his teammates, and therefore never really needed to figure the time to be at the post office for himself. Today had been different though. Kodi left the boiler room early so he could have some time to himself, time to think about what he needed to say. At first Kodi thought he could put the words together in a few minutes and be back in the warmth of the boiler room before everyone woke up. Then when everyone was awake Kodi would make his public apology, and everything would be fine. As things went though, a few words, and a few minutes, quickly turned into what must have been two hours and not two kind words strung together properly.

Kodi turned down the street towards the post office. The streets seemed stark of life. Not a single lantern was lit in any of the homes and the ones that hung on the poles were dark and frost covered. Snowdrifts reached out into the streets from the alleyways like white fingers reaching to choke the life from the town; and Kodi if he treaded wrong. Kodi peeked in a shop window as he passed and saw the toys that the human pups played with stacked on each other and bathed in darkness. Kodi pushed on painfully, never had he not wanted to go and run the mail. Since he could stand he had always wanted to pull the mail sled and feel important to the welfare of the town. Now Kodi felt that pulling the mail was a privilege he didn't deserve.

_I wonder if they would leave without me._ Kodi thought to himself while slowing his pace even more. _That would be nice. At least then I wouldn't have to look Dusty in the eyes when I showed up, and maybe then I could get what I want to say right. _Kodi dared to let a smile grace his face and his feet slow down to a crawl.

Even with Kodi's slow walk, and his special care to step far around the snowdrifts in the street, he still seemed to move to fast. In what seemed just a minute he stood in front of the post office. Just around the back he knew his teammates stood waiting for him. Or maybe they had left without him? There was only one way to tell.

Kodi moved along the side of the building towards the back shed where the old mail sled and harnesses were kept. He let his feet slowly pull him there, the thinking part of his mind slunk away from himself until he was only a body moving towards the rear.

Stepping into the open Kodi found himself face to face with Dusty's scowling acid eyes silhouetted by the directional lantern that half blinded Kodi. Kirby stood by with a reserved look.

Kodi stepped towards Dusty "Um … uh … Dusty, I … well … it was."

"There you are!" Mr. Simpson bolted to the front of the team in what seemed one step. He grabbed Kodi by the collar and spun him around in one flash to the front of the team. "Where have you been? We're running late and we need to go." Mr. Simpson grabbed the loose harness from the snow and threw it around Kodi's shoulders. Then in another quick moment he fastened Kodi's collar to the gangling. With that Mr. Simpson ran back to the sled.

Kodi knew Dusty was still glaring at him. He could feel her eyes stabbing him in the back. He needed to speak even if he didn't know what he was going to say. Turning in his harness, he faced Dusty full on. "Dusty, I just want to say to you that I am regretting everything I said. I wasn't talking about you, well, I guess I was, but it was taken out of what I meant, and you don't know what Kirby and Ralph were saying. So why don't you just throw some mean words at me for the rest of the day, and we'll call it good? Okay?"

Dusty remained stern in Kodi's face and against his words. With a casual turn of her head she leaned in closer to Kirby. "Did he say something?"

Kirby's eyes bolted from Kodi to Dusty and back, panicked as to what to say. "Um, I think he might have been trying to apologize for what he said about you the other day."

Dusty growled. "Then tell him I do not acknowledge his attempt to take back everything he said about me."

"Huh?" Kodi cocked his right ear sideways.

Kirby looked at Kodi. "I think she means she won't accept your apology."

Mr. Simpson jumped on the sled and grabbed the handlebar with both his hands. "Okay, let's get this mail train under way." He then clicked his cheek against his teeth. The sound was muffled under his bearskin hood.

"Dusty." Kodi looked at her eyes. Dusty refused to meet his eyes "Stop this. I'm truly sorry I hurt you, but I'm trying to make things better now. So come on just talk to me. Tell me you will let this go."

"Come on, let's go. Hike!" Mr. Simpson yelled and threw his right arm into the air.

"So what did he say this time Kirby?" Dusty said.

"He wants to make peace Dusty." Kirby said flatly

"Kirby," Dusty turned to him. "Tell Kodi that nothing he says will change my mind."

Kirby looked at Kodi. "I think she says she still won't accept your apology."

Kodi growled angrily, he hated being treated like an object. "I know what she said! I'm standing right here!"

"Hey, what's the holdup?" Mr. Simpson stepped off the sled and began to crunch his boots towards Kodi. _What is up with that dog? _He thought.

"Well I'm just doing what I was asked to do." Kirby threw in for his defense. "I was just forced into this. I didn't ask to be the relater of everything Dusty says or hears."

Kodi growled and looked at Dusty with a quiet to his expression. "Dusty, please, come on and just say we're even."

Dusty stared coldly at him.

"What is wrong with you?" Mr. Simpson grabbed Kodi roughly by the collar and spun him around so he faced the way he was supposed to run. "You run this way, got it?" He extended his arm out away from the team and Dusty. "Now come on, let's go." Kodi growled sullenly at his failed attempt at forgiveness.

Mr. Simpson bolted back to his sled and jumped on the runners. "Hike!" He yelled at the top of his lungs and threw his right arm forward like he had a whip in it. Kodi slowly pulled forward in his harness and the team began to follow in suit as the gang line pulled taught and their collars were pulled forward. Soon the entire team moved forward and the sled followed behind. Kodi aimed around the corner of the post office and out into the street. They plowed through the snowdrifts creeping into the street on their way past the only lit lantern in town at the telegraph office. Without the slightest of goodbyes, the team vanished into the receding gloom of the night, the directional lantern following their tales, not to return till tomorrow, if ever.

As they vanished out of sight, the telegraph operator stepped from his little building wearing a hooded parka, carrying a stack of papers under his left arm, and a stapler in his right. His little pug dog, Morris, followed him out and scrunched his nose against the cold, then huffed out against it. He turned to go back into the building but found that his master had already shut the door. He barked up at him.

"No no, I'm sorry. We need to go hang these up, and I could use some company." The telegraph operator said down at his little dog. "If my hands were free I would carry you around, but there's going to be a big race and we need to tell the people. Right Morris?"

Morris rolled his eyes disgusted that he was going to have to walk through the dark cold streets with his master. He had a nice warm bunk to sleep in near the stove and half a bowl of food to finish.

The telegraph operator wasted no time on setting up the first green paper flyer on the side of his own building. With his right gloved hand he managed to get one paper away from the stack in his left hand and slam it against the side of the building. At the same time he put a single staple with the hand stapler into the center of the sheet. He then stapled all the corners and sides of the single paper against the rough siding so it wouldn't fly away. With a grin he looked down at his dog. "Okay Morris. One down, seventy nine to go."

Turning, the telegraph operator stepped off his little deck into the snow and away from his building. Morris whined and looked up at the paper, but his master couldn't hear him. He then bound onto the packed snow and followed his master into the darkness to hang the rest of the flyers.

The flyer the telegraph operator had hung read in bold black lines across the top. **The Return of the Alaska 500. **


	5. Balto

**Chapter 5 **

The day moved on slow and thoughtfully, never making a move without waiting an infinite amount of time to do it. Around 9 A.M. people in their homes began to stir to life. They crawled from their warm beds and began to feed the fires in the stoves and cook breakfast for themselves and each other. None of them went anywhere near the door for the fear that today they would just find the day colder than yesterday. When they were finally forced to venture out into the cold, a great sigh of despair escaped them. It was just as cold, if not colder, than the day before.

Around 10 A.M. the sun rose behind a great bank of grey clouds to the south, brining on the customary day of endless gray that consumed Nome in its own great depression. It was just another day to sit around, fight with each other until voices became harsh, then spend another cold night in warm beds until morning when they would try the temperature again.

On the outskirts of Nome - one miles to the east along the shore – an old dilapidated fishing trawler which must have been fifty years old, sat, rotting and rusting away with the snows and the rains that came each winter and summer. The boards along the sides had been striped away by ice and wind, and carried away into the nearby ocean; some recent, some long ago. There were some hatchet marks on the left side where people had come to steal firewood. This had happened long before, Balto, the only creature to reside on the boat full time, was alive. This boat seemed hardly the kind of place for a famous town hero to reside when half of the people in Nome would have gladly taken this heroic canine in and called him their own. Yet Balto was a free spirit, and felt he didn't need anybody but his wonderful friends, and beautiful mate Jenna, to be happy.

A freak gust of wind kicked up snow that had collected along the front railing of the boat, casting it towards the wheel-house. As the gust died down most of the flakes fell away onto the deck to spin fruitlessly about. Nevertheless 12 flakes kept aloof on the breeze, making their way towards a missing board on the side of the wheel-house. Like passing under the victory flag of a race, 8 of the 12 flakes flew through the hole, the rest smashed against the board which hung by one nail below the hole. The eight flakes swirled about in the calm of the wheel-house, focusing their energy towards the exposed nose of a creature under a lumpy wool blanket in the corner of the building. They came to rest just in front of the large creature's nostrils where they waited to be caught by another movement of wind.

Balto breathed in slow, letting the air warm in his long sleek muzzle before entering down into his lungs. He had learned to do this in many years living in the cold weather – along with many times he had froze the back of his mouth breathing to fast while sleeping.

The three flakes stayed still, vibrating low and harmoniously as Balto breathed. The steam from Balto's exhaled breath collected on the three flakes of ice, bulking them up and making them bigger. In just minutes the three flakes which had started out like shavings of dust were as large as a mouse eye; the perfect size for a dog to gag and choke on and never know what hit him.

Without warning, Balto sucked in hard. It was his natural reaction to breathe sharply every now and then when air scarcely entered his lungs at a portion of normal speed. It sent the three flakes into the air. Two of the flakes entered his right nostril, while the third one missed completely and got stuck on the edge of his nose.

It only took a moment for the two flakes to get lodged in Balto's throat, causing him to gasp like he got a knife wound in the stomach. Balto panicked and threw his feet out from under himself and the blanket, coughing and gasping he rose into the cold grinding his throat in short moans. The blanket fluttered to the floor in a pile. The two flakes melted in just moments, leaving Balto rudely awakened in the cold day.

His throat quickly cleared of any obstructions, Balto looked to the sky in the skinny doorway of the helm. Only moments told him what the days was like "Too cold." Balto moaned and looked at his blanket wadded on the floor. As he ruffled the blanket with his nose to get it in a better position to crawl under again, another sound came, this one from deep within Balto. The sound was like a starving dog growling at comers to his feast.

Balto looked down between his legs at his stomach and watched his fur ripple as another growl echoed from below. Even though Balto didn't feel hungry he knew the feeling wouldn't last. "Guess I better get something to eat before I go back to sleep." Balto's voice was groggy and sleepy sounding from the two days of solid unconsciousness he had retained.

Balto yawned and stretched his body as far as it would go. Turning, he stepped out of the small door to the wheelhouse of the boat and looked to the south. The sun had risen, but was imprisoned behind the castle wall of grey clouds. "Looks like another beautiful day." Balto said sarcastically to himself. He chuckled lightly and turned towards the bow of the boat.

Age began to sneak up on Balto. His walk became slow and jerky and his joints were always just a little bit sorer in the morning. But he couldn't help that, he was pushing five years old after all. _Every dog begins to feel the age at some point._ Balto thought as he rounded his right shoulder to relive a knotty muscle there. The pain receded, and Balto jumped up onto his favorite crate at the front of the boat. It had been there forever and preserved every mark Balto had left with his claws since he stood just half as tall as it.

From his vantage point Balto could see almost every house in Nome. They all stood dark faced with lighthearted insides where the people and the warmth were, where conversations about life and death and politics happened at the drop of a hat. At times the homes, under the guiding light of the cross atop the church, beheld a certain warmth and loving; like a family you loved to love. But that was not the case today. Even today the homes looked dreary and miserable under the grey hue of the day. Balto closed his eyes and began to turn away when he noticed a flicker of life among their stern cold faces.

It was Jenna, moving briskly out away from town, her paws treading lightly through the snow that had blown across the path Balto used to get to town and back. From the way Jenna walked Balto could tell that she had something very important to say. She never walked in a hunched over wolfish manner unless something pressed uncontrollably on her mind, and she needed someone to vent on and get her emotions straight so she could go out and try again.

Balto sighed and let his body sink down onto the crate. He folded his paws on one another on the edge of the railing and let his jaw rest on them. _No sense standing around for Jenna, might as well catch some rest, _Thought Balto as his eyes closed around the distant speak that came for him. She would wake him when she got here.

"Balto." Balto's eyes shot open and he raised his head off his paws. Below him the most beautiful husky looked up with anxious eyes.

"I'm sorry; I was just checking the inside of my eyelids." Balto yawned wide enough that he needed to close his eyes to do it. "So what's on your mind Jenna? You don't come out here unless you got a bone to pick with me."

"And that's exactly why I'm here. I want to speak to you about your son."

Balto rolled his eyes and looked towards the sky like the answer to every problem he ever faced might be up there somewhere. His eyes came back around and locked onto Jenna. "So what did Dakota do now?"

Jenna growled loud and ferocious enough that Balto almost came to his feet to get away.

"No! This is about your so called good son, Kodi." Jenna hissed.

Both of Balto's ears flattened to the sides in wonder. "Kodi? You mean our Kodi?"

"Yes," Jenna growled irritably. "And I want to tell you all about what he did to Dusty the other day. Just let me get up there." Jenna moved impatiently around the right side of the boat towards the rickety plank that leaned up through a gap in the railing.

"Kodi?"Balto asked himself in a whisper as he came to his feet. He turned and meandered off the edge of the crate to the floor and moved around the side of the boat; following alongside Jenna.

Jenna put her front paws on the edge of the snowy plank and looked up it. Balto stood near the top of the plank next to the railing waiting for her to come with a broad smile on his face. Sneering slightly at Balto's grin, Jenna pushed up towards Balto. Her weight bent the plank until it looked like a piece of stretched cloth. She pushed on carefully, always watching the plank to find that telltale sign she was about to end up in the snow. With a huge sigh of relief, she set all four of her paws on the deck and looked back at the plank. It had returned to its original shape.

Jenna turned with a start to Balto. "Now, about your son -"

"Wait, wait, I want to get this straight." Balto emphasized his speech. "You mean, that our Kodi, the Kodi I have never had trouble with ever, who runs the mail team, who -"

"Yes!" Jenna barked before Balto could continue. "Our son Kodi hurt Dusty."

Balto sighed uneasily and adjusted his paws. "So, did they get in a fight or something?"

Jenna closed her eyes, turned and walked towards the front of the boat past Balto. "Well, sorta." Jenna's voice still rang with bitterness.

"Sorta?" Balto turned and stood shoulder to shoulder with Jenna on her left side. "Why don't you elaborate on it?" Balto teased lightly.

Jenna glared with her left eye. "Well, the other day I was walking down the street on my way to Dixie's to see her pups,-"

"Wait," Balto happily interrupted. "Dixie had her pups. What's Star think about it?"

Jenna turned and groaned angrily at Balto's insolence towards the problem on her mind. Walking towards the back of the boat, she regained her thought and turned to face Balto once more, only calmer. "Yes, I think Star is very happy, but that's not what I want to talk to you about. This is about our son, and I'm very concerned, as you should be."

Balto sat down and perked his ears, the sign that he was ready to listen and be serious. "Okay finish what you were saying then."

Satisfied Balto would now listen; Jenna walked up to him and sat down face to face. "Well, anyways, I was walking to Dixie's when Dusty ran across the street in front of me crying. I went and followed her and tried to comfort her. Eventually she told me why she was crying." Jenna turned slightly away from Balto. "Apparently Dusty had walked in on Kodi saying all sorts of mean things to his friends about her and … I just don't understand why Kodi would do something like that" Jenna shook her head disapprovingly.

Balto looked deep in thought, his mind shifting around with questions and possible answers. "Well … what if Dusty's trying to play a joke on Kodi? You know, she gets you all built up so you go talk to Kodi, and then when you do Kodi has no idea what you're talking about."

Jenna growled and turned away. Walking to the other side of the boat she stopped and turned to face Balto again. "There is something else." Jenna said flat and calm. "I guess Dusty has had a crush on Kodi for some time now."

Lowering his left eyebrow, Balto stepped towards Jenna. "You mean, Dusty, likes our Kodi?"

Jenna sighed and sealed her answer with an affirmative nod. "Did like him anyways."

Balto rolled his eyes and began to pace back and forth just a few steps. "I don't believe it. I mean, I've never had any problem with Kodi. Never. It just doesn't make sense. There has to be something missing. There's got to be something that we don't know." Balto stopped and shook his head gravely at Jenna. "So when do you plan to go and speak to Kodi about this?"

Jenna breathed in sharp like a sudden pain stabbed her. "Well, that's the thing. Dusty made me promise that _I_ wouldn't talk to Kodi."

Balto grinned. "But there was nothing that said _I_ couldn't go talk to him, right?"

"Nope, nothing said you couldn't" Jenna said point-blank.

"So why can't you go and talk to him?"

Jenna rolled her eyes almost into the back of her head. "I wish I could, I would give him a good piece of my mind. But Dusty made me promise that I wouldn't talk to Kodi, it, it's one of those girl things."

Balto knew to stay away from the 'girl things.' It was better to live long. "So where is Kodi?"

"He went on the mail run this morning. I wanted to give you some time to think about what you would say to him." Jenna moved back towards Balto. "But I want you to make sure to tell him how disappointed I am in him. Got it Balto?"

Balto shook his head. "Yeah, I got it. I'll tell him."

"You better," Jenna hissed. She knew Balto had a free-spirited heart to punishment. It was one of Jenna's - very few - little peeves she had about him.

At that moment Balto's stomach came to life like two wild cats trying to escape from a canvas bag. The dark, angry, bewildered, mood that had encompassed the boat just moments earlier, shattered with the life that exploded from Balto's sides. All of Jenna's attention moved focus down to just below Balto's ribs where his belly sunk up against his back.

"Hungry are we?" Jenna said with a coy expression.

Balto couldn't help but grin. "Yeah," He stepped forward towards Jenna, the expression on his face changing to a puppyish silly. "I bet some Husky paws would go good right about now. You know, calm the beast within."

"Balto, don't you dare." Jenna began to back away from Balto. "I'm in no mood for being tickled."

"I'm sure." Balto turned sly and low like a panther stalking his prey. Moving slow, Balto crept left, then right, across the deck towards Jenna, all the while eyeing her paws with delight and hunger.

"Balto get away." Jenna backed her paws away. A giggle rising in her as Balto crept closer in his devious catlike way. "You're just trying to cheer me up, and I don't want to be cheered up, I'm sorry I asked about your stomach, now leave me alone." Jenna bolted around the left side of the wheelhouse towards the front of the boat, leaving behind a flurry of giggling.

Darting around the right side of the wheelhouse, Balto caught Jenna in his eyes coming around from the left side at the same time as he. They both stopped on opposite sides of the boat looking furtively at each other; each waiting for the other to make a move. With a leap equal to that of a spry pup, Jenna turned and raced back to the rear of the boat. Balto followed her on his side of the boat.

Jenna came around the back of the wheelhouse first and made a run for the plank, all the while laughing. Balto moved in on her laughter and slid across the deck just in front of the plank and Jenna, brining Jenna's nose right up to the tip of his.

"Gotcha!" Balto yelled leaping onto his back paws and reaching out with both his front legs to grab Jenna. But Jenna moved much to swift for Balto and passed under his grasping paws towards the front of the boat; leaving Balto looking stupidly down at the deck between his front legs where Jenna should have been.

Jenna scampered a dozen steps away and turned. "Come on Balto. Are you loosing some of your youth in old age, or maybe it's just all that sleep that's got you down?"

"Oh, I'm going to tickle every one of your paws when I get hold of you." Balto threatened on a friendly level. "And I'm never going to let you go."

"Try me." Jenna jeered, lolling her tongue out at Balto.

"You'll regret that." Balto sneered and sprinted after Jenna.

Jenna ran to the crates at the front of the boat and turned to face Balto who stood just five steps away. "So, the mighty hunter corners his prey." Jenna said in a defeated tone, though her eyes glistened with victory.

Balto moved in on Jenna, coming slow and methodical. "So it seems I have. Now what shall I do to be rid of you once and for all?" Balto growled playfully.

"How about telling me what you're going to say to Kodi when you talk to him."

"Never!" Balto jumped up into the air and down towards her paws with an open mouth.

But Jenna had stopped in front of the crate for a reason. She leapt high as she could and landed on top of the crate just as Balto's nose crashed through the sideboards with a high pitched _CRUNCH! _

"OW!" Balto pulled his head back out of the hole he had made - with what felt like his entire head - and sat back looking down at his nose. "Oh that smarts." Balto wrinkled his nose up and crossed his eyes to look down his muzzle. "Does it look bent to you?"

Jenna giggled, grinned, and nuzzled Balto from her high perch. "Of course not."

"Oh," Balto groaned. "It feels like it is." Balto stepped back further and wrinkled his nose more, twisting his head and opening one eye at a time to see if it looked bent from either direction.

"Well, I'm sure it's not." Jenna stated matter-of-factly. The mood began to change back to what it had been before all the fun. "Now, I would like to know what you're going to tell Kodi when you talk to him."

"Oh, come on Jenna." Balto turned away from her; the pain in his nose began to subside. "I'm just going to ask for his side of the story. That's all." Balto rotated back around towards Jenna and let his body slide from standing to lying down on the deck in one smooth move. "I'm not going to make a big deal out of it."

"Well," Jenna looked cunningly to the side as she slid off the crate and began to walk towards Balto. She spoke in a fed-up whining tone. "Maybe you should."

"Jenna." Balto heaved a breath and shook his head. He lowered his voice low. "I don't want to assume anything and put Kodi on the defensive when I talk to him. I just want his story."

"Well, what if he lies?" Jenna said as if she were running out of things to say.

"Jenna, Kodi has never lied to me before, and I don't see why he would start now. He's a good dog. I just think that something has gotten mixed up, a stories gotten twisted, and now he look like a real bad guy."

"Maybe your right," Jenna relinquished. "I'm just worried about our son," She lowered her head and stepped closer to Balto, about ready to nuzzle him. "I just don't want him to end up being another Dakota."

"Is this a bad time?" A light mellow voice came.

Jenna and Balto both turned their heads in mild shock to the young rust colored male husky who stood at the corner of the wheelhouse. He was a handsom specimen of a dog, with a body any lady would love, and a mouth good enough to talk Eskimos into buying freezers. He stood uneasily, like he had to really go to the bathroom, or tell a secret that tore him at the seams. His ears flattened against his head and his eyes full of shame and guilt as he stepped uneasily forward.

"Um, no we were jus-"

"-Okay okay, I admit it." Dakota cut his father off. "I was just on my way to apologize to Kitsch right now, but I wanted you two to know the whole story. I know I probably shouldn't have got her to sneak out with me and knock down firewood piles. And I know I probably should have stood by her when she got pinned and Mr. McCoy came out and gave her a couple good hits with his cane, but I wa-"

"No, we, weren't talking, about that." Jenna said slow and thought out.

"Oh … Well if this about the butchers wife, she deserved to get covered with snow. I mean, I begged her out of some scraps, and she brings me a bone without a bit of meat on it. Can you believe the nerve of some-?"

"- Dakota, this has nothing to do with you." Balto shook his head

Dakota scrunched his face up, perplexed as to why he wasn't the center of attention here. "Oh!" The idea hit him. "Then is this about Kodi?"

Jenna stepped towards Dakota. "How did you know about it?"

"Mom, it's all over town, everybody knows that Kodi beat up Dusty."

Jenna turned her head away and closed her eyes like a migraine suddenly throttled her. "Oh no." She whispered. "Now nobody is going to know what actually happened." She stepped away to think things through.

"What?" Dakota looked at his father befuddled "Isn't that what happened?"

Balto shook his head. "No. Kodi just said some mean things about Dusty and Dusty overheard him saying it."

Dakota turned away disappointedly. "Doesn't sound near as bad as what I heard."

Jenna rolled her eyes and moaned like someone looking at a mountain of work. She stepped back towards Dakota. "So what's the story you heard?"

Dakota grinned. "I don't know if I want to use such words in front of my mother."

Jenna moaned even louder and turned away again. Dakota looked at his father with a long grin. "You know, I never thought I would see the day when my goody-two-shoes brother got in trouble. I just didn't see it coming." Dakota smiled and chuckled twice.

Balto rolled his eyes sideways. "So is this the only reason you're out here, to dig up dirt on your brother and apologize for something I don't even know about yet?"

"No." Dakota smiled and wagged his tale. "I came out here to tell you the great news."

"Good I could use it." Balto said.

"There's going to be a race. The Alaska 500!" Dakota almost screamed it. "500 hundred miles of freezing cold trail, constant threat of moose attack, overflow, and the madness that can come with racing" Dakota grinned and positively felt charged.

Balto barely raised an eyebrow to the news. "How's that good news for me? I don't even run on a team"

"I don't know." Dakota threw his head sideways and turned to look at the mountains to the north. "I just thought you might be excited. I know I would do anything to enter in that race."

Like the grinding of gears downshifting on a truck, Balto's stomach let loose another spastic symphony of emptiness. Everybody's attention focused down to Balto's sides. A quite moment reined after the gurgling had stopped. "I need to eat." Balto confessed.

Dakota giggled and Jenna let a smile cross her face. Jenna stepped in front of Dakota and Balto. "What say we head to town and get Balto something to eat? I know I've been out here chewing on his ear for to long and he deserves something for his patience."

Balto liked the idea and came to his feet with his tale wagging.


	6. Kodi's Return

**Chapter 6 **

The rest of the day passed quickly. Balto, Jenna, and Dakota walked to town listening to Balto's stomach groan and growl as Jenna teased him with thoughts of food, and poking him with her thoughts on Kodi. When they reached the first building in town – the telegraph operator's shack – Dakota backed oddly into the alley behind the building muttering to his parents he was late and needed to go. He then vanished down the alley before either of his parents remembered his confession out on the boat and jumped on him about that.

Balto and Jenna walked on to Jenna's house and scratched on the door until Rosy opened it and let them both in with her bouncy attitude. Rosy then gave Balto a good pat and fetched some food from the pantry and filled the metal bowl next to Jenna's that had his name written on it in crude blocky letters. Taking his fill of food, Balto moved to the living room where he found the fire blazing warmly in front of the rug he and Jenna would often rest on. Lying down with his right side to the fire place, Jenna joined him and began to talk about Kodi. After twenty minutes of listening to Jenna, Balto stood and walked to the door and scratched. As rosy opened the door, Balto backed out muttering the same thing Dakota had about being late and that he needed to go. He then returned to his boat, ruffled his blanket and crawled under to sleep the rest of the day in peace. Jenna spent the rest of the day in her master's room watching her draw and color.

The sun set at 2:51 P.M. It was quite an uneventful sunset, nothing more than a transition from light grey to dark grey. At 6:00 P.M. the town lantern lighter stepped out of his little shack, dragging behind him a sled filled with lanterns. At 6:32 P.M. the same man retuned to his home with an empty sled of lanterns and quietly tended his fire, ate a morsel of a whole meal, and slipped into bed.

7:12 A.M. the following morning the same man left his house to the cold windswept streets and at 7:45 A.M. he removed the lantern he hung out near the front porch of the telegraph office. The telegraph operator walked down the stairs inside his office dressed to work. He pulled his pocket-watch out of his front left breast-pocket and noted the time down in his mind.

Morris looked up from his comfy bed near the desk as his master replaced his watch and walked to his chair and leaned back with his hands against his eyes and his glasses clenched between his thumb and forefinger. He rubbed his eyes and yawned loudly; then let his hands drop down to his stomach. Letting his fingers lace quietly together, the telegraph operator leaned his head forward and drifted asleep. There would be no possibility of mail until at least 8:30 A.M., so unless a telegraph came in, there was nothing for him to do at work.

The sun came up at 10:45 A.M. behind clouds, and at 2:55 P.M. the sun went down; and at the same time as the sun set, the Nome Mail Team came over the hill to the east.

Kodi stood at the lead of the team, his chest heaving in and out with exhaustion. He tried his best to breathe slowly, for his lungs hurt like fire when the cold air entered to fast, and a trail of blood leading from the corner of his mouth down his icy chest, showed the extent of the pain and the damage done to his throat and lungs. Slowly coming to a stop, Kodi stood in almost dumbfound amazement that the town was a mile in front of him. In some way, Kodi thought he would never find Nome again.

The previous two days had been a nightmare for Kodi. It mainly came because of Kodi's absent mindedness. All his thoughts were on Dusty, and how he could make it up to her, and how he could get her back to being just a friend. Thoughts idea's and plans to do this consumed Kodi so much, that every few minutes, something went wrong.

It started shortly after leaving Nome. Kodi took a wrong trail somewhere and began to climb unsteadily up through rocky canyons. Eventually coming out on a mountain plateau where wind bored straight through the team's fur. About the time that the team moved around the peak of the mountain, the comments began to start. They started low and behind Kodi, secret whispers from Kirby and Ralph, angry mutters to one another. Kodi had expected Dusty to join them, but he never once heard her speak.

After the tall mountain, Kodi thought he found a trail down. The first trail led him to the face of a cliff, at which point he turned around and found another trail. This one didn't end at a cliff, but it did have a steep drop down an icy gorge that caused every line, leather strap, and harness to get horribly tangled in a mess at the bottom. Everything was so tangled that Mr. Simpson had to take every dog out of the wreckage and tie them to a separate tree, then re-harness every dog one by one.

At White Mountain they rested in a brown barn near the outskirts of town – the normal place they usually rested for the night. That night Kodi slept separate of his friends in some hay near the door, the feeling that his friends hated and distrusted him ran through his mind as he slipped into sleep. In the middle of the night he woke to whispers, but not to him. His friends, Kirby, Ralph, Fell, Kip, and Dusty, all sat around in a little circle whispering to one another. Kodi tried not to let it bother him as he rolled over and pressed his ears into the hay, though he was sure all the talk was about him.

Early in the morning Mr. Simpson harnessed them up to the sled with two new bags of mail, and they set out to Nome. Kodi tried to concentrate on the trail, but the trail became boring, and his mind came back to Dusty. For a long while the perfect plan formed in his head, the best, most absolute perfect plan to get Dusty to drop the grudge. About that time that he was nearing the end of his plan, the highlight in the story, the piece del resistance, Kodi fell off the trial and smacked his shoulder into a tree, bringing him around face on with Dusty. The plan fluttered away from his mind like a snowflake to the wind.

So after Kodi ran through six large puddles of overflow, and at least sixteen more wrong turns, Nome came into view.

The team came up behind Kodi and stopped just as he had, gasping for breath, and looking like weary travelers in the desert when they first spotted water. Their traces fell to the snow with a clink of ice covered iron, and their eyes scoped the town hungrily. Food, water, rest, relaxation, all of it right there within reach.

Mr. Simpson stepped off the sled and looked south where the light of the day began to drain quickly away. He was really late and he knew it. His eyes drifted through the fur-lined hole to Kodi. Something was wrong with that dog, something had gotten into him, or gotten on his mind, and now Kodi didn't seem to know which way was up. Mr. Simpson looked at Ralph, at least Ralph wouldn't get lost on the next run. "Come on boys and girl. Let's get down there and get some rest." Mr. Simpson urged on, stepping back onto the sled and giving it a good heave with his right boot.

Kodi stepped forward and his traces pulled the rest of the team towards Nome. They began to pick up the pace as they started the last downhill run before Nome. Plowing through the snow, Kodi pushed on.

For a while Mr. Simpson thought he could feel the old vinegar of life in his dogs as the sled sliced through the snow. _Maybe Kodi just wanted to stay in Nome? _Mr. Simpson thought. _Maybe there's something he didn't quite want to leave behind yesterday? _Of course, only half of what Mr. Simpson was thinking was true.

The team hit the town and the hard-packed snow, their speed dropped to a slow walk, and their breath slowed dramatically. "Oh," Ralph complained openly. "My feet are killing me. If I ever put on a harness again, it will be too soon." They all moved around the corner they had raced around two days previous without haste, and made a straight line for the post office 100 yards away.

"Amen." Kirby said several seconds after Ralph had stopped speaking. Kodi's eyes moved to Ralph's for the first time since they left Nome. Kirby saw Kodi's passing glance and he looked away, full of shame and guilt. He knew it was still his fault Kodi hadn't had his head on right and Dusty had been so mad at him.

The last hundred yards to the post office never felt so horrible. The weight of the sled, the mail, Mr. Simpson, and all their gear, never felt so heavy in the straps of the harnesses, or against the pads of their paws. For a while Kodi thought, and felt, that the entire weight of the sled was in his harness alone. His paws sunk in the snow, and every step he took forwards, felt like two steps back. He groaned loudly, and heaved harder. Why weren't his teammates pulling their fair share?

With a grunt, Kodi stopped in front of the post office and dropped to his belly into the snow. Kirby, Ralph, Dusty, Kip, and Fell, all followed in suit, their eyes half closed, elated at the thought of rest and food.

Mr. Simpson pulled the snow hook from the leather bag on the handlebar and hefted it in his right hand, weighing the idea of setting it or not. He looked at his team, exhausted and indolent to everything except their own need to sleep and eat. Thinking better of the idea, Mr. Simpson put the hook back into the bag, and grabbed his bag of meatballs. It only took him a moment to realize that the canvas bag had nothing in it. "Sorry," He held the bag up for his team's eyes. They all looked at the white cloth with hungry dejection. "Nothing fast." Mr. Simpson set the bag back down in the sled. "But I promise you that I'll cook something good up right after I get the mail in."

Mr. Simpson grabbed both sacks of mail and hefted one into each hand. He pushed up the steps of the post office and through the door with the jingle of bells.

Mr. Conner stood behind the counter, busy writing in a personally diary type book. Mr. Conner barely moved his eyes from his writing as the steam from around the rafters dissipated and the heat from the stove began to come through the cracks in Mr. Simpson's clothing. "You're late." Mr. Conner said coldly.

Mr. Simpson stepped forward like a child caught with his father's gun. He set the mail on the counter and removed his mittens and hood. "Yeah." Mr. Simpson agreed in the same cold manner. Leaning against the counter, he looked at the frost covered glass in the door and out at his dogs. "Something's wrong with them, specifically Kodi." Mr. Simpson turned to face Mr. Conner who had stopped writing in his book. The book now rested under the corner of his right elbow and his hand pressed firmly against the bottom of his jaw, thinking.

"You know," Mr. Conner moved his elbow from his book and grabbed both the mailbags to heft them off the counter. The weight of the mail fell on his shoulders, making his arms hang low between his legs "Since you've been gone there have been some big changes in town."

Mr. Conner moved around the counter with both sacks of mail between his legs just above the floor. Mr. Simpson followed him with his eyes. "Oh yeah, like what?"

Mr. Conner made the turn at the end of the counter, and headed straight for the stove. "Look at the bulletin board."

Mr. Simpson cast his eyes towards the bulletin board like a drunk across the bar. There, directly in the center of the board, a long blue piece of paper was hung over two or three other ads and stapled securely in place. Moving across the room from his leaning position on the counter, Mr. Simpson began reading it before he fully stood in front of it. "The return of the Alaska five hundred." Mr. Simpson said after a moment. He looked at Mr. Conner who just finished hanging the second bag of mail from the ceiling. "So what brought this on?"

Mr. Conner rubbed his hands against his black pants and glimpsed the two bags once more before deciding that he had hung them properly enough. "Oh some bureaucratic mumbo jumbo about health and well being, It's just something to get the money and moral flowing and the people out of their homes."

Mr. Simpson's gaze crawled back to the sheet of paper. "Five thousand dollars to the winner, huh?" His voice was full of brash optimism. It dropped as he looked at the price for entering "five hundred dollars to enter though. If I had the money I'd enter." He looked at Mr. Conner. "And I'd beat them all."

Moving slowly towards the door, as if he got to close the cold would suck him in; Mr. Conner scratched some frost away from the window and looked out at the team of dogs panting in the snow. But his mind wasn't fully on the dogs, it was on the gear the dogs wore, and the sled they pulled. "You know," Mr. Conner turned and walked to the far end of the counter. Zipping around the counter, he curved towards his normal writing spot. "I think maybe I should invest some money into some sled gear. You can't keep running on that old stuff forever."

Mr. Simpson followed Mr. Conner to his writing spot closest to the door. "What do you mean?"

The books that had all the checks, receipts, and other things which went with finances for the mail, hit the counter with a thud. Mr. Conner grinned slightly at how heavy the book was. "I mean that maybe I should invest some money into your team." He locked eyes with Mr. Simpson who now stood in front of him. "You have been working for me for … what now, five years?"

Mr. Simpson grinned. "Yeah, and I think it's the same gear that I started out with."

Mr. Conner chuckled lightly and opened the book and began scratching things down on paper. He moved quickly, writing here, writing there, turning pages, doing math there, subtracts last number from number on fourth page sub-paragraph six.

Silence held the room and Mr. Simpson felt he needed to speak out just to have voice. "So, I see you're over your cold."

"Yeah." Mr. Conner brushed it off. "Just some bug." He paused in the middle of writing a number down, and looked at Mr. Simpson. "How much would a new sled and harness set for all your dogs cost?"

Mr. Simpson leaned back from the counter and looked at the ceiling as he calculate it all out. "Uh, maybe two-hundred and fifty for a sled, and new lines. Say, another hundred and fifty dollars for new harnesses. So four hundred total – but that's all brand new." He threw in as an afterthought. "I don't quite need brand new gear for running the mail. For some used stuff it might be-"

"Oh nonsense," Mr. Conner said sliding a checkbook under his hand. "I'm also going to add in your pay for today on this."

"No problem."

Mr. Conner wrote the check in seconds, and slid it across the counter with a long sly grin to Mr. Simpson's waiting hand. "Now don't spend it all in one place."

Mr. Simpson turned with a smile and headed towards the door with a casual gait as he discreetly looked at the check. Then he noticed the numbers on the check, and stopped. He turned with a befuddled frown and held the check out to hand it back.

"Is something wrong?" Mr. Conner said glancing at the outstretched check, but never threatening to take it back.

"Uh, yeah," Mr. Simpson looked at the check again. "I think you must've miswrote this, because, this is too much."

"Oh," Mr. Conner looked at his book where he had written the amount of the check down. "No nine hundred and twenty five, that's counting your pay and new gear."

"Yeah, but, you gave me … five … hundred … extra" Mr. Simpson stopped and his face went blank with wonder. He looked at Mr. Conner who had the same idea on his mind, and a very satisfied grin. They both stared at each other, stock still.

"So tell me," Mr. Conner said surreptitiously, laying his arms flat against the counter. "Do you really think that you can beat them all?"

"Yeah!" Yelled Mr. Simpson. "Well, maybe not all of them, but I'll for sure be in the top three finishers." Mr. Simpson thought better about it. "Hell, I will win." He looked at the check in his hands again and felt a pit in his stomach. "Wait, you can't just give me five hundred for entering a race."

Mr. Conner stepped back from the counter and threw his arms up as if he was shocked he couldn't' do such a thing. "Why Not?"

"Because."

"Well, it is my own money." Mr. Conner said casually.

"Your own money, but … why?"

Mr. Conner heaved a sigh and spread his hands out across the counter. "Well, it's probably because I remember a young man who wanted nothing more than to have a chance at running the Alaska five-hundred, but never had the money. And then when the race suddenly comes up, he doesn't have the money to do it. I just wanted to help you with a dream."

Mr. Simpson felt speechless. His mouth moved, but nothing came out. The air in the room grew stale as Mr. Conner waited for him to speak again. Finally, Mr. Simpson felt some words forming. "So you just gave me … five hundred dollars … just so I can try an old dream."

Looking at the ceiling, Mr. Conner answered slowly. "Hmmm, yup."

Words left Mr. Simpson and time stood still.

"Take your time." Mr. Conner teased.

Meanwhile outside the little post office filled with befuddlement, the mail team had regained some energy and composure. They all sat up and looked around them without haste, like children trying to figure out what had changed in their room.

Blood flowed from their muscles back to the outer reaches of their bodies. Nerves that had previously been dulled by the constant motion, lit on fire and began the stages of flaring out against themselves. In another hour or so the pain would have them all complaining and slipping into a comfortable spot so they could sleep the pain away.

"You know, Mr. Simpson's appropriating a lengthy allotment of time for ceding the mail." Fell said breaking the silence that had beset the team for the past day. He moved and stretched his back legs slightly as a nerve suddenly flared in his back right ankle.

"Uh, yeah. Me to." Ralph grinned sharply, trying to sound like he knew everything Fell said.

Fell's face scrunched up in amusement and a light chuckle escaped him. Ralph bared his teeth slightly; he had been duped again and he didn't like it one bit. "You know, I'm going to get you back someday Fell."

"I vastly distrust that my comrade." Fell grinned as Ralph stared bitterly at him.

Even though normally Kodi would have jumped into any conversation, he didn't feel friendly enough to talk at all. His ears rested down and back away from his face shamefully. His eyes hid away from everyone; daring not to grace his friends for fear that they might take it- in some way- wrong.

Kirby looked at Kodi with a heartfelt sidelong glance. He could see how Kodi was hurting and in need of a friend, or at least some kind words. Besides, maybe if he got Kodi by himself he could tell him what they had talked about most of the previous night. "Hey Kodi, why don't you and me go chase some cats after this? You know, just us two guys."

Kodi shook his head slowly. "No, I'm to tired." He said without enthusiasm or even life. His eyes locked square ahead. "I just want to go to bed; maybe I can get my head on right."

There was a sense of distance in Kodi's voice. A far off loneliness Kirby could feel rising off of him. Kirby looked away; he really wanted to speak to Kodi alone about Dusty. Kirby thought about another way he could get Kodi outside of the boiler room for a minute.

After a moment of thinking Kirby's eyes came back to Kodi, he hadn't changed a bit. Behind Kodi Dusty looked full of sorrow for the young husky in front of her, but her eyes were also filled with anger and rage. She looked ready to kill Kodi in a moments notice, then weep over his grave the next.

The door of the post office flew open and Mr. Simpson came running off the porch in a cloud of steam. His feet hardly touched the steps, yet as he came down towards the snow his legs pumped like they were making full contact with each step. His feet squeaked across the snow as he rushed to the back of the sled and gripped the handlebar full on, barely ready for the dogs to pull. "Hike!" He yelled all of the sudden.

Energy flowed from his voice and the dogs fed on this. At once they all stood on their feet; the traces suddenly found tension, and the sled pulled forward down the street.

Kodi felt a new energy flowing through him. No longer was he tired, no longer did his feet hurt, no longer was he thinking about Dusty or how his friends had been whispering to each other the previous night. His mind ran with questions on what was happening_. Where are we going? What are we doing? Why does Mr. Simpson have so much energy? _

"Haw. Haw!" Mr. Simpson yelled and threw his weight into a left turn.

The command came so sudden Kodi tripped over his own feet to make the turn into the six foot wide alley. His shoulder scrapped against the far corner of the building, throwing him sideways and almost to the snow; correcting himself, he flew into an immediate boost of speed down the alley, making a note to slow before the possibility of another turn.

"Gee! Gee!" Mr. Simpson screamed near the end of the alley. He threw his weight hard right and the rickety sled threw out a wave of snow as it burst into the street.

Kodi flew right and down the center of the street where he began his meditative run. Breath, step, breath, step, breath, step, breath, step, breath, step. Just as Kodi's body began to get accustomed to running the command came to stop.

"Whoa! Whoa! Ease up, ease up. Line it out." Mr. Simpson pushed his boot into the snow, casting a spray of it all up his chest, some right up to his hood. The team stopped and he threw the snow hook down and leapt on it. Then with a turn, Mr. Simpson bolted into the man-door – next to the large garage type door - of the building they had come to rest in front of, hardly bothering to close it behind him.

Kirby kept watching the door for several seconds after Mr. Simpson had vanished. He then turned to the team with his eyebrows lowered in a perplexed scowl. "What was that about?"

An un-agreeable raise of the shoulders and sighs of wonder escaped his teammates. Nobody really seemed to know, but surly they all had speculated thoughts on it.

The energy that the team had suddenly, diminished slowly, until once again they all sat down in the snow feeling their aches and pains run through their body. Every now and then nerve ending flared wildly in their muscles, causing Kirby to shift a leg there, Dusty to stand the roll her back here, and Fell to lie sideways and stretch his legs as far as he could towards the building Mr. Simpson went into.

"Oh, I'm so hungry." Ralph said suddenly, his belly roared and he raised his paw to feel just how thin he was becoming. "Look at me." He said indirectly to his teammates. "I'm turning to skin and bones. If I don't eat something soon, I'll just shrivel up and disappear." Ralph laughed halfheartedly, but nobody joined him. He sighed unemotionally and returned to being just another silent member of the team.

"Thank you. Thank you very much." Mr. Simpson said stepping out of the door he had vanished into. His right hand shaking the town carpenters hand joyfully. "I just can't believe that I'm going to do it."

The carpenter smiled. "Yeah, well like I said I should have the sled in two or three days, and the harnesses and gang-line are ready now if you want them."

Mr. Simpson stopped shaking the carpenters hand and stepped away from the door, aiming for his team. "No, no. I would rather take them all in one shot. Thank you, thank you again." He turned away with a smile and the carpenter closed the door without another word.

All the dogs turned and looked at their master with questioning eyes as he made his way to the back of the sled. Mr. Simpson stopped just before reaching the sled; as if he understood what his dogs were thinking, he spoke up. "Well I guess I should tell those who are going to be doing the pulling." Mr. Simpson reached up with both his mittens and removed his hood, exposing his tender face to the ice cold and growing darkness. He raised his arms and head out like he was going to shout to the sky, which he did "We're going to run the Alaska 500, and we're going to win."


	7. Kodi's Talking To

**Chapter 7 **

"The Alaska five hundred." Kirby said to himself in a voice just above a pleased whisper. To his teammates he looked pretty foolish sitting by the door of the boiler room looking out at the bleak night and letting the cold creep in through the slightly ajar door. Light from the flame in the boiler stretched out across the snow in front of Kirby through the crack into the night.

"The Alaska five hundred." Kirby repeated in a more upbeat tone. This time his voice echoed through the boiler room, but nobody seemed to take heed.

A long satisfying grin spread across Kirby's face. Closing his eyes he could clearly see himself standing above a large crowd on a pedestal with a shiny golden collar wrapped around his neck. But the crowd wasn't just any crowd; this was a crowd of the most beautiful, most luscious, most busty female dogs Kirby had ever seen. And they were all shouting his name and screaming out "Take me," "I'm yours," and the one that got Kirby all bound up in knots, "I got some steak, big boy."

"Hey Kirby why don't you close that. I spent all day out there, I don't need to have it in here as well" Ralph said busting Kirby's fragile bubble of self love. Dusty's giggle followed shortly after.

Kirby turned and looked at all his friends spread about the room easing their aches and pains away. Ralph and Dusty sat side by side in front of the boiler, flames dancing across their faces and upper chest like some playful pup lapping at there wet faces. Kip and Fell sat together back away from the boiler up on the wooden shelves. The fur on their faces was wet, but starting to dry in the intense temperature of the boiler room. Then there was Kodi; he lay back against the far corner of the boiler room under the shadow of the bench, head down against his paws, tail and legs coiled around himself. His ears laid semi flat against his head, set in a space between a dream and a nightmare, being completely ignored by everyone in the room like some garbage on the street. Kodi didn't seem to mind that he was nothing in his teammates eyes, and by the looks, didn't look like he cared he was even a teammate.

Kirby opened his jaws and grabbed the white cotton rope that hung on the inside of the door and pulled. The door closed as best it could with the snow wedged between it and the baseboard, leaving the top corner open to the cold, but that was normal. He then turned back into the room and began to saunter his way across the wooden floor. Unnoticed squeaks rising from the boards as he walked. Stopping, Kirby cleared his throat and attained the unnoticed attention of the room. "Can you believe it?"

"What's that Kirby?" Dusty threw over her shoulder, moving her head around Ralph's fat head.

Kirby took a step towards Dusty and raised his chest arrogantly; Ralph turned his head to listen as well. "My dream of course."

"Your dream?" Ralph laughed and turned back towards the boiler. Dusty followed, already bored with what was to come.

"Yes, my dream." Kirby turned away hurt.

Ralph laughed even harder. "I thought your only dream was to gain enough weight that you could just sit on your fat but all day and not do anything … or, or what about the dream where you save a bunch of female dogs that will take care of you for the rest of your life?" Ralph chuckled, his entire body shaking as he laughed.

Kirby growled and moved away from the boiler, a look of hurt spread across his face. "You guys are just jealous because I have a dream." He huffed and sat down facing away from everyone.

Rolling his eyes then closing them tight and angrily, yet sucking his anger in and preparing himself to kiss up and keep the peace, Ralph turned to face Kirby's back. "Well, then why don't you tell us your Dream."

Kirby raised an ear to this, and turned his head slightly. "What?"

Ralph groaned in his mind. "Why don't you tell us what your dream's about? We're all listening."

Dusty nodded approvingly without turning her head, and Kip and Fell both bowed their heads once in approval. Kodi didn't seem to hear anything, his head lay on his paws and his eyes stared forward.

"Well," Kirby began to turn around. "I guess I could."

"Sure." Ralph turned back to the boiler with an uninterested tone as Kirby began to rant.

"It's my dream to run the Alaska 500." Kirby stated matter-of-factly.

Silence reined throughout the room for what seemed several minutes.

"Oh come on, aren't you guys interested in this race at all?" Kirby fired.

"Nope."

"Nope."

"Not really."

"Hehehehe."

His teammates fired off in rapid succession – at least the ones listening.

"Well … er, why not?" Kirby fought the words out.

Ralph turned his head to the side so Kirby could see his left eye. "It's just another time in the harness."

"What!" Kirby leapt to Ralph's side. "'Just another time in the harness?' It's more than that, it's, it's … just …" Kirby stopped, the struggle with words ended for a lack of them.

Silence returned to the little room. Kirby looked around at his friends; none of them seemed to share his same excitement for the race to come. He began to turn away from the boiler and make his way towards the back of the room under the bench, when Fell spoke from just above him.

"So exactly what is so exceptional as to regards of this contest?" Fell's voice sounded full of genial interest.

Kirby didn't want to bust the bubble of friendship he was receiving from Fell; but the fact of the matter was he didn't know exactly what he had been asked. "Well, you know er … um, a … do you think you could repeat that?" He asked in a tone of puppyish confusion.

Fell rolled his eyes in a wide circle. "Moronic simpletons." He whispered to himself, then straightened up to speak. "I asked, what is so special about this race?"

"Oh, why didn't you say so?" Kirby turned away from the benches and took up a speaking spot in the center of the room.

Fell rolled his eyes back the other way and grinded his teeth together. "_I did_."

Kirby waited for the room to grow quiet, even though it was already quiet. Clearing his throat like a great speaker, he began. "Five hundred miles of the harshest trail anybody has ever seen. Testing the will of man and dog, possibly brining us together, or ripping us apart to turn on each other and find out who will succumb to cannibalism first."

Dusty turned to face Kirby with a roll of her eyes.

"Winds so strong they could pick an entire team of dogs up and throw them off a mountain." Kirby went on, Ralph turned to listen in also. "Ice rough enough to rip your paws to bloody shreds – and this is only in the first few miles. Not to mention the fame that the winning team would have, and the ladies that will swoon over us. Now can you believe that we're going to run this race? We're going to be famous." He finished with voice of utter excitement.

Ralph's ears perked straight and narrow at the mention of ladies. "So what's this about … ladies?" He tried his best to sound uncaring.

"The girls." Kirby stated flatly. "Every girl. From the big to the small, from the ugly, to the beautiful, will want us." Kirby gave a flirtatious growl.

"Oh," groaned Dusty turning back around. "Males." She spit the word distastefully.

Ralph's attention still held fast. "So, all the girls would be after us?"

Kirby opened his mouth to speak—

"--You mean like they do now?" Dusty snickered.

"Ha ha ha, you kill me Dusty." Kirby laughed derisively.

Ralph, still unmoved, turned to speak again. "So, who exactly would have the most girls after him?"

Perplexity wracked Kirby's face; ears twisting, eyes moving off and away inadvertently. "Well, I suppose it would be the one who wears the golden collar."

"And who's that?" Ralph asked on the edge of excitement.

"Well, I guess it would be …" Kirby's eyes moved across the room towards Kodi's lost form. "Our leader."

Kodi, suddenly realizing the eyes of half his teammates were on him, looked up unaware of what was happening. "What?"

"Oh nothing." Ralph turned away and stared back into the deepness of the boiler. In his mind he still remembered all the stupid things Kodi had put the team through, and all the pain from the extra running Ralph had put his toe through. "Just talking, that's all." Ralph finished with a bitter tone.

Kirby turned away also, and the eyes of his teammates were no longer on him. Kodi could feel the pressing of the room and his 'friends' against him crushing him back into his corner. He needed to get out of there before it killed him.

Kodi urged himself to his feet and began to ramble towards the door. His head hung low between his front legs, but his eyes scanning his teammates for their irate looks. They all turned their heads slowly towards Kodi and let a single judging eye cast across his slinking form. Fell and Kip both watched him move from their shelf and across the room with high-nosed eyes. Kodi then crossed between Kirby and Ralph. Both looked at him over their shoulders with a scowl; both thinking about the particular hell Kodi had put them through. Dusty didn't even feel it worth her time to look at him.

Kodi stopped at the door and leaned his shoulder hard against it. A long groan signaled it opening, followed closely by a blast of arctic wind that chilled the room. Everyones fur twitched on end. Kodi pushed into the darkness and cold, kicking the door closed with his left back foot before slinking away into the night.

The room was silent; all eyes rested against different places throughout the room waiting for the heat to return and their fur to drop back down.

"Serves him right." Dusty scolded.

Kirby looked straight at Dusty. "You know Dusty, it isn't all his fault."

"Like I haven't heard that before." Dusty shot back.

"But what about what you said last night?" Kirby shot back even harder.

Dusty was silent.

Kirby stepped closer to Dusty, and Dusty watched him out of the corner of her eye, waiting. But Kirby stopped short, closed his mouth, opened it again, then closed it and turned away. Casting one more glance towards Dusty,Kirby moved slow across the room and found himself a spot tucked back under the benches. He curled around three and a half times, then laid down facing the wall; letting his mind slink into the recesses of sleep.

Kodi felt horrible to the point he actually felt sick. Although he had been feeling quite sick all evening, it seemed to be coming through with exceptional atrociousness now. He stumbled left and right through the streets bouncing his shoulders against the siding to either side. Moaning horribly and feeling his stomach turn and gurgle as he did. Words spilled forth, never being spoken to any general audience and always being slow and moaned. His eyes looked, but did not see.

"Why?" He cried to himself, then moaned a cluster of words.

_What's wrong with me?_ Kodi asked himself mentally. He didn't appear to be well at all. _Is this guilt eating me up that bad? Am I falling apart because of this? What am I going to do? _Kodi asked himself over and over again.

The night seemed to crowd in around Kodi. Wind zapped the life from him and drowned his fur in swirls of snow that came up from around the edges of buildings he passed. Nothing seemed to make any sense: Kodi felt completely lost.

Kodi ducked into a dark alley stuffed with trash. _Maybe I need some sleep. _He thought feeling suddenly sleepy. He looked for something soft to crawl under or pull over himself. Then it came, his stomach. It twisted violently and threw itself forward against his ribs and spilled it's contents onto the snow in front of him with a loud hack that could be heard halfway across town. It came in two waves; first exploding violently out and away, then a low emptying of what hadn't made it out in the first wave until he was completely drained.

Sitting back with an almost amazed look on his face, along with some half digested slump across his lower jaw, Kodi looked around him slightly dazed; but at least he felt better. Two wooden barrels nearby welcomed Kodi's exhausted form. He wedged his body between them and sat with his back to the wall letting his stomach settle itself. Kodi's eyes closed and opened meditatively, looking towards the black sky above with an estranged hope. A hope for an answer, a way to turn the story, or anything, anything.

"KODIAK!" Came the sudden scream.

Kodi's eyes dropped instantly and he threw himself against the side of the barrel in shock, knocking it down in front of his feet. Feet tangled around the barrel as Kodi ran. But he didn't get far as the barrel rolled under his front legs and lifted his stomach into the air, tossing him over to the side. The realization of who was yelling at him made Kodi curl his tail between his legs, and tuck his ears back against the side of his head.

Slowly Kodi turned his head to look down at the far end of the alley where his mother stood surrounded by a yellow glow of a lantern. Her eyes were dark, but burned with a fierceness of death. Breath escaped her lungs with a hiss, followed by the crackling of the steam as it froze in midair.

"KODIAK!" Jenna barked again, her powerful mother toned voice funneled down the alley, causing Kodi to wince as he stared from his shocked position on his back.

Without another word, Jenna moved down the alley towards her son with a stride of pure hate, pure vengeance, and pure energy. It took only a moment before she stood above Kodi, looking down with a coldness and superiority of a abhorrence filled mother.

"H, hi … mo-"

"Don't you 'Hi Mom' me." Jenna ordered. "I don't want to hear a word out of your mouth."

"Yes mom." Kodi submitted and sucked his neck down, trying to become as small as he could to escape his mother's wrath.

"Now stand up!" His mother ordered.

Kodi rolled over to his stomach, but kept his body close to the snow so he didn't stand over his mother.

Jenna scowled. "I said stand up!"

Kodi did, and stood just slightly taller than his mother, but made sure to keep his head and shoulders low along with his tail.

Jenna growled "Who do you think you are? I want to know. Who do you think you are?"

Kodi wasn't sure how to answer, and waited for his mother to continue, or make an order for him to answer her.

A tense standoff passed, and then calm seemed to come through Jenna in a single exhaled breath of disillusioned reason, relaxing everything, even her fur until she no longer looked full of rage. Her eyes even looked calm. But the feeling of extreme displeasure filled the air around them.

She heaved a breath and leaned in close to Kodi. "I'm not mad at you; I'm just extremely disappointed in you, and worried about what's going on in your life."

"But mo-" Kodi began, but his mother's stern eyes stopped him.

"Now I wish I could sit her and tell you what's what, and try to help you, but I'm busy"

Kodi raised his right ear and looked at his mother with wonder; but he made sure to keep it silent and hidden behind his eyes.

"So instead," Jenna continued quickly, noticing Kodi's curious move of an ear. "Your father's going to have a word with you. And I have no idea how upset he's going to be."

Jenna turned slowly, "So let's hurry."

Leaving her warning about Balto's wrath echoing distastefully through Kodi's head made Kodi wonder. _How angry can my father be_? Kodi asked himself timidly. At that moment Kodi realized he had never actually seen his father in an angry state. He had seen his father when he was quite frustrated and upset, but never actually, _angry._

Jenna took five steps forward, and stopped. "Hurry up!" She nipped. "Your fathers waiting."

Kodi began to follow after his mother with his head hung low. His shoulders heaved his legs forward in a way that made it look like his knees weren't bending. Inside Kodi's mind Kodi was fighting his body to make him stop, to move slower, or to run the other way and hide. But his mothers leading way made him unwillingly move forward.

Jenna cast a single eye over her shoulder to make sure her son still followed. Questions flowed through her brain, and she kept her single eyes securely locked on Kodi's forehead, wishing her questions could go into Kodi, and Kodi would start talking to her, answering all the mysteries. Yet Kodi was silent.

It took only a few minutes for the two to move through the dark streets and reach the edge of town and the wall of black between humanity and the wild. Jenna stopped in front of the telegraph office under the warmth of the light and looked out into the darkness where she figured Balto's boat would be. She let her hind legs bring her tail to the snow and she watched out of the corner of her eye as her son moved up to her shoulder and stopped.

Kodi began to let his tail drop to the snow, when Jenna spoke suddenly. "Don't sit down. I don't have anything to say to you I'm busy. It's your father who wants to talk. He's waiting on the boat for you … And remember that me and your father are going to talk after this and decide a punishment for you"

Kodi's hips stopped half-way down, and came back upright. A wonder passed through his mind at his mother's strange words of being late, but Kodi began to walk into the darkness of the arctic night in the general direction of his father's unseen boat without a second thought to it. His gate moved slow and painful; and his mother, in some way, could feel the pain emanating off of him as his tail vanished.

Kodi moved into the darkness, then stopped and turned to look one more time at his mother. Silence surrounded him as he watched his mothers hate, and worry, filled eyes. He knew she was worried for him, and he knew what she probably heard was an absolute shock to her senses and made her angry and frustrated. Kodi couldn't blame her. But what would his father's reaction be? In a few moments, Kodi would surely know.

Jenna watched her son move into the darkness in a less than prideful way. She closed her eyes and shook her head despondently. Something had gone wrong with her son, and now only Balto could figure out what it was. Her feet moved and pressed up against her weight until she stood. She looked one more time at where he son had been, and turned to walk back into the streets. Her fur bristled against the cold and her face flush with hope.

Darkness surrounded Kodi and began to close in on him. It chocked the life from him, strangled him, raped him, and left him for dead in a snow bank. That sickening feeling Kodi had got when he left the boiler room began to come back in full force. The snow under his feet gave way every third step, dropping his belly right down into the snow. The usual trail etched in the snow was nowhere in sight A wind began to come up in the wide-open planes of the arctic, pursing Kodi's fur and driving bits of ice and snow right down to his skin. Eyes clenched against the cold he pushed on.

Kodi's eyes began to grow accustom to the darkness and cold. His father's dark and ghost ridden boat began to appear before him off to the right; it was still a ways off, but with every step it grew closer and more defined.

It took just minutes for Kodi to move under the great arched bow on his father's boat. His eyes looked up over his shoulder at the very bow of the boat, expecting to see his father's denounced form standing above him with trenchant eyes and hair seethed up on end with fiendish yellow eyes, but only the ghostly hallow of emptiness greeted Kodi from the bow.

"Dad." Kodi called as he walked around the right edge of the boat. A moment passed for a possible answer from his father, but none came. Only the noise of Kodi's feet crunching against the snow and a muffled wind made any sound. "Mom said you wanted to talk to me." Kodi continued, his voice being drowned out by the loosely blowing wind which moved through his father boat. An eerie feeling moved down Kodi's spine.

Kodi stopped at the bottom of the single plank that reached up onto the slanted deck. Nowhere did his father's dark form appear. "Dad?"

Nothing.

His paws moved forward against his will onto the plank, which bent alarmingly under his massive male weight. Kodi only heeded this in the slightest; he had been up it a hundred times before and knew it would hold.

Reaching the top of the plank and looking around the rundown boat with a wary eye, Kodi searched for any sign of his father. He sniffed the air for that musty smell his father gave off. It was everywhere.

"Dad?" Kodi asked questioningly.

There came a rustle from the wheelhouse of the boat, a thumping and scratching sound against the wooden floors. "Who's there?" Came Balto's deep throated demand in the middle of scrambling to stand up.

"It's me dad. Kodi."

Balto's head appeared in the door of the wheelhouse. His eyes moved back towards his son and, recognizing him with a grin, stepped full out into the open. "There's my favorite son." Balto spoke in a full smile. He then lowered his voice. "But don't tell the others I said that."

Kodi forced a laugh at the joke he had heard a thousand times before. "_Ha Ha, _that's funny… Mom says you want to talk to me." Kodi finished meekly but with a force which said he wanted to get everything over with.

Balto bowed his head a single time, closing his eyes once to seal his answer of yes. "I suppose I better talk to you, get your side of the story. I see that you're quite eager to tell me." Balto winked and stepped forward to sit in front of his son; Kodi sat as his father did. "So why don't you tell me what happened from the beginning."

Kodi forced a breath full of anxiety. "Well, you see it's really kind of complicated-"

"Just start at the beginning."

Kodi gulped but felt safe to speak in his father's presence. "Okay. Well, me and the guys were coming back from running the mail, Dusty stayed behind to get some medicine put on her paws. And, anyways, Kirby and Ralph began … uh, taunting me …"

Balto cocked his ear sideways and leaned his head closer. "About what?"

"What?" Kodi asked full of hope that he wouldn't have to elaborate.

"What were Kirby and Ralph taunting you about?" Balto questioned deeper and full of rigid serenity.

"So anyways, I kept trying to get them to stop." Kodi moved on hoping that his father would follow his lead. "But they wouldn't stop, and-"

"-Kodi," Balto interrupted gently. "I want to know what they were teasing you about. Was it about you being part wolf?" Balto asked in the most deadly-serious tone Kodi had ever heard.

"No." Kodi sighed full of relief. "No no, nothing like that at all, they love you, and they love me."

Balto bowed his head with a relieved murmur. He matched Kodi's widespread grin. "So they were just teasing you about your crush on Dusty then?"

Kodi's eyes spread wide and lost. "Um, what?"

"Kodi." Balto shook his head and smiled. "It's pretty easy to see that you have something for her, and that's absolutely normal. She's a very beautiful girl after all."

"No," Kodi balked. "It's nothing like that, no, no; it has nothing to do with _me_ liking her. It's got to do with Kirby and Ralph trying to get me to admit to liking her. She's nice, but not what I want."

"So then what do you want in a girl?"

Kodi suddenly felt very mortified to talk to his father about this stuff. "Well, I guess I want her to be … active, and uh, charming …beautiful."

Balto raised a speculative ear. "Like Dusty?"

"No." Kodi fired back. "I told you she's nice. But she's just not what I want."

"Well then, continue on with your story." Balto nosed Kodi onward.

"Okay, well, anyways they kept trying to get me to admit that I liked her, and finally I guess I just snapped. I don't remember what I said really, but when I finished I saw the look on Kirby and Ralph's eyes." Kodi lowered his head ashamed. "And it was then that I knew that Dusty was standing behind me, but when I looked, she had already run off …" Kodi remained silent for a long moment, waiting for his father to speak, all the while keeping his eyes hidden from his father. But finally the silence couldn't be held any longer and Kodi raised his head to his father.

Balto looked deep in thought. "I see." He stated impersonally.

_It's now, it's got to be now that he's going to yell,_ Kodi thought. He could just feel his fathers scorning brewing up, the air becoming tense with the hatred. Then, just when Kodi expected the articulated thrashing of his life, his father shrugged his shoulder and sighed unemotionally. "Well, I don't really know what to tell you. I'm just … shocked and disappointed in you …"

"What?" Kodi whispered, and almost leapt out of his subconscious skin. His jaw hung nearly to his paws.

Balto scrunched his face up in an unusual turn. "Were you expecting me to be angry or something? You just messed up, that's all. And I know that you have problems when it comes to girls"

Kodi's stared with a paralyzed look of fear. "N … no I, I don't"

An unsure eyebrow raised, Balto carried on, "Kodi, you do. I remember when you vomited on that one girl's paws."

"How did you know?" Kodi stated accusingly.

"Kodi," Balto sighed. "The entire town knew about that. It's a small world we live in. And I want you to know that if you ever need any help with talking to girls," Balto winked, "That your old man is right here to help you."

In some way Kodi felt very disgusted; but there was also some minor tinge of anger brewing. "No, no, I don't need any help I'm just fine. Besides, not that many girls in Nome like me. I'm not exactly a big tough male dog, Not exactly what a girl's looking for."

"Kodi," Balto said unequivocally shaking his head. "You're very handsome, and there are a lot of fine girls in Nome that like you."

Then, from off the side of the boat, catching both father and son's eye, a clearly recognizable form stepped into view. Dakota ambled along towards the plank of the boat and set his front paws on it. "Yeah Kodi, I mean I can probably name off ten of them right now."

Kodi glanced at his father with an embarrassed motion, searching to know if he should be smiling. Balto never met his eyes, but kept looking at Dakota. "Dakota, can't you see I'm having a conversation with Kodi?"

Just at that moment Dakota's paws landed on the deck of the boat and he ambled with a cocksure stride to his father and brother's side. "Yeah, but I had to be here when you gave Kodi and new one." He winked at Kodi and sat. "Besides, who better to tell Kodi about all the wonderful girls that like him."

Kodi grinned uncomfortable. "No girl likes me."

Dakota laughed mockingly. "Yeah, and I'm not actually standing here." He padded his front paws against the deck of the boat to make his point. "And you're wrong Kodi, lots of girls like you."

Balto and Dakota both looked at Kodi with a condemning eye. Kodi turned, obviously embarrassed beyond a rational state. "Oh come on Dakota, stop it." He laughed nervously. "You're making me blush."

"Kodi," Balto poked fun. "Dog's don't blush."

"Yeah Kodi," Dakota agreed. "Quit making up excuses to chance the subject."

Kodi glared at his brother. "Hold on here, what are you doing out here? Dad's trying to have a father son conversation with me, and you're out here interrupting everything."

"Well," Dakota stated puritanically. "I just wanted to ask if you if you've heard anything about the Alaska 500. And if not, then I'm here to tell you all about it. I've been reading the flyers all over town."

Kodi laughed and shook his head. "You can read?"

"Yeah." Retorted Dakota obviously shocked.

"Yeah Dakota, I do know about it, and I'm already entered." Kodi responded indifferently.

"Really!" Dakota flew to his feet, tail wagging. "That is so neat. You have no idea how lucky you are to run on a team." Dakota suddenly grew sullen and let his ears droop down the sides of his head. His tail fluttered down. "I wish I ran on a team. That would just be the neatest. All the fame, all the success, and all the girls you'll have."

"You keep mentioning girls to me." Kodi barked, growing tired of his brother. "But I'm telling you that none of the girls in Nome like me."

"I'm not so sure about that." Said Balto with a hint of superiority. "I know I've seen a few girls looking at you with that look before."

"A few," Dakota laughed heartily. "I would bet that nearly ever girl in Nome has thought of you at least once."

"No." Kodi turned his face away, embarrassment eking up through his fur again. "Not every girl."

"Just about." Dakota rolled his eyes to the top of his head like he was thinking deeply. "There's Maggie, Molly, Lady, Ginger,-"

"The Pomeranian?" Kodi asked.

"Yup, then there's Coco, Missy, Tasha, Bo …"

"Bo? Who's Bo?" Asked Kodi.

"You know that one girl who lives over by the tailors?"

"The real fat one?"

"Yeah," Dakota said above normal, pleased with Kodi's description of her. "She has a thing for you. Next time you pass her by, you may want to take a look at her eyes and see how she's looking at you." Dakota paused for a moment, scrutinizing his brother over "You are no good with girls are you?"

Kodi scrunched his eyes in irritation towards his brother.

"But never mind that," Dakota cut in on the strange moment of silence. "You're going to run the Alaska 500. Any girl in Nome will be all over you. Maybe even Jaya?

Kodi's eye's opened wide at Jaya's name. She was probably the one prize greater than the golden collar in Nome.

" I just can't imagine how excited you must be. The adventure, the fame." Dakota paused and let his morose posture tell how sad he was that he wasn't on a team and that his owner was too young for any real adventure; which was what Dakota craved more than anything.

"Well," Balto said after another moment of long silence. "I suppose we all better be getting to bed like good little pups. Some of us have to get up early in the morning."

Kodi stood unwillingly. "Yeah, I suppose."

"Yeah." Dakota agreed, already moving towards the edge of the boat. "I got to get up early to frighten Mr. McZee's when he goes to his outhouse." He grinned and turned around to see the reaction he'd get.

Balto gave Dakota a dissatisfied glare. But Dakota didn't heed him as he stepped down onto the plank and off the boat.

Kodi began to move after his brother when his father moved up to his side and whispered into his ear. "If I were you I'd leave Dusty alone for a few days. Eventually she'll forget about it and you can make an apology. But until then don't make a scene with yourself. Don't worry to much about it. … and Kodi, if you need any, advice," Balto winked. "Don't be afraid to get some from your old dad."

Kodi felt slightly awkward, but smiled and said. "Okay." Then he bounded off the boat into the ice cold snow and turned towards town along the trail that suddenly existed under his paws. His brother walked along slowly as Kodi bound up to his right side. Dakota glanced over at his brother, and then continued on without a word towards the golden glow of Nome.

"So were you serious about all those girls that like me? Maybe even Jaya?"

Dakota raised his right ear with an inquisitive sparkle in his grin. "Yeah." He stated bluntly, almost sounding tired. "You need to really start looking around you more. Especially now that you're running in the biggest race around, every girl's going to want you, and every guy's going to want to be you. You're going to be famous."

Silence escaped Kodi as he continued on towards town. A new prideful feeling flowed through his veins, made his hair stand on end, and a very warm feeling stream up through his cold paws. His eyes closed and opened in ecstasy. Nothing could hurt him now for he was going to be famous, maybe even a hero; he was going to run the race and win. He was going to be the winner. The Golden Collar would be his.


	8. A Prelude To The Beginning

**Chapter 8 **

The boiler room retained a deathly silence that expounded every little wheeze, snort, or movement anybody made. Kirby, long ago fallen asleep on his back with his paws dangling in the air above him, rested in the corner snoring loudly every third or fourth breath; never did he breathe in a rhythm that would let the others rest peacefully without hard-pressed paws against the sides of their heads.

Above Kirby and far to the left, Kip and Fell lay tightly snuggled against one another for the shared warmth and comfort. Every ten or fifteen minutes Kip would wiggle and squirm, followed closely by pitiful whimpering that would grow and grow until Kip woke himself; then, startled at his own whining, would close his eyes and rest against his brothers shoulder, mouth open, drool dripping down, until he slipped into sleep again.

Ralph – seemingly the only one who slept normally – had drifted over to the opposite corner than Kirby, and rested with his tail and back legs curled around and his face turned towards the boiler like a normal dog, sleeping without a sound.

Dusty, even though her eyes fluttered with exhaustion, still sat in front of the boiler thinking about what had happened in the previous days. Her face was now dry as a desert and twice as warm, which went along with the rest of her body. Several times she had almost fell forwards into the hot metal of the boiler - which would have left a nasty looking scar on her face. But each time she neared the heat she'd awake and sit bolt upright.

"I got to lie down before I hurt myself." She chided herself in an upbeat, almost comical, manner. But the drollness died as her mind drifted back to the events that had changed the team. In some way she felt all this had been her fault. _Maybe I didn't let him know that I liked him well enough, maybe I should have come right out and said it to him? _She thought. Yet she knew none of this was her fault; this was just some arrogant rambling from a dog she used to love. _Yeah, used to love. There's nothing that can change a male dogs mind; and if that's how he sees me, then so be it. _ She thought.

From across the room a loud expulsion of flatulence escaped from Kirby's sleeping form. Dusty turned and looked at him just as a deep-sleep smile crossed his face. "Oh," Dusty winced. "That's so gross." She watched Kirby for a moment more as he rolled over away from her and emanated a pleased groan.

"I suppose I should get some sleep." Dusty said surrendering to the urge and coming to her feet. She turned away from the boiler and walked lazily over to the high set benches on the far side of the room from Kirby, and quiet close to Kip, Fell, and Ralph. She jumped up onto the bench and curled herself around until she felt comfortable, which didn't take much, and let her eyes clamp shut. Sleep came instantly.

The door to the boiler room opened quiet suddenly with a groan that brought everybody's ears upright, and eye wide open. Snowy wind blasted across the floor of the room and a cloud of ice cold wind jetted from the open door into the room, so thick, it was like a dream, or a nightmare. Whoever had opened the door remained hidden behind the cloud until the figure appeared through the mist.

"Kodi." Kirby said rolling over onto his side. "What are you doing? It's colder than frozen salmon out there. Close the door."

Kodi stepped into the room in front of the cloud with a prideful stance, and then turned back into the cloud at Kirby's command. Kodi shut the door with a crunch of snow, the cloud of cold steam vanished in just a few moments, leaving Kodi standing at the door in the wispy feathers left by the steam.

Kirby pushed his front paws up under his body and came to a sitting position. "Do you have any idea how late it is?"

"Uh, No." Replied Kodi, seemingly unaware of any concept about the time of night. He looked about the little room at his friends who all looked at him with less than happy faces. "I'm sorry I woke you guys. I tried to come in as quiet as possible."

"Boy, are you going to have a hard time tomorrow." Grinned Kirby with a pleased tone. "Out all night after a hard day's work, with nothing to look forwards to tomorrow except another hard day's work. It's going to kill you." Kirby finished with a little laugh deep back in his throat.

Kodi smiled, feeling his lead-dog status burning inside him. "What are you," He joked to Kirby, "My mother? I'll be fine." He brushed it off with an arrogant swish of his tail as he began to move across the room.

"I don't know about that." Kirby turned away condescendingly.

Kodi examined Kirby from his spot by the door, seeing that Kirby knew something else he wasn't exactly thrilled to share. Or maybe he was willing to share just to get the upper grasp of things.

"Oh yeah?" Kodi asked stepping closer with a curious lowering of his left eyebrow, and holding a certain friendly dominance over him. "And why's that?"

Kirby turned his head slow and examined Kodi out of the corner of his eye with a superior shine to his smile and low-cornered eye. "Because tomorrow we're going to start training for the race in addition to running the mail."

Kodi laughed mockingly and turned away towards the opposite side of the room, busting Kirby's bubble of dominance. Kodi stop a few feet away and turned back to Kirby. "And you think that is going to bring me down. I'm ready for any training that comes my way. I don't need that much sleep. Besides, I'll lick all comers" Kodi yawned.

Looking like he was at a loss for words, Kirby stood and began to move up behind Kodi to speak to him. "Hey look Kodi, this isn't something that you're going to be able to just _wing_. You're going to have to do a lot of training to even have a chance."

"Yeah." Dusty suddenly spoke to Kodi. She had been listening to the conversation progressing for some time, and all the while she had been feeling an anger growing inside her. Even though it wasn't her natural tendency to become angry, for what appeared to be no apparent reason, she was. It was most likely Kodi's overconfident attitude toward what was likely to be one of the hardest things she ever did that set her off.

Kirby looked at Dusty with a mild shock; Kodi looked with complete shock, but remained silent with the memories of what his dad had said.

Dusty moved off the shelf onto the floor like water pouring over a rock. Her toes clacked against the cold wood as she moved towards Kodi, her face full of contempt; much like Kodi's mother when they met in the alleyway earlier. Dusty stopped in front of Kodi so they faced each other, Kirby stood to the side waiting.

Kodi opened his mouth. "Dusty … I …" He tried to formulate his apology.

"-Save it," Dusty barked back at him. "I wouldn't accept your apology even if you could say it." She growled. "Now I don't like you Kodi, and I defiantly don't like that attitude."

"What attitude?" Kodi shot back speculatively.

"That attitude." She growled. "Do you think that any of us here like that kind of mind-set from you. That's the kind of attitude that makes us loose, _rookie_."

"Hey, I've been on this team just as long as you Dusty!" Kodi growled back.

They both stared at each other for a moment, tempers building and expounding atop one another, just waiting for the other to crack and begin the attack.

"Come on you guys," Kirby stepped in between them before something got started. "Let's break it up before we send fur all over this room."

"Yeah." Kodi agreed sturdily, and then moved around Dusty's right side with an angry glare. Dusty watched him go all the way to the other side of the room and lay down. She turned her head back around to find Kirby standing in Kodi's old place just in front of her nose.

"Come on Dusty, let's get some sleep. It's going to be a long day tomorrow. You'll need your rest" He urged quietly and moved forwards, almost pushing Dusty, but she didn't move.

Dusty shook her head. "No. I need to walk some of this off. I don't know what's got into me" She said in a confessing tone. "I guess Kodi got me angry." Dusty lowered her ears and moved around Kirby towards the door. She stopped and looked one more time at Kodi before pushing the door open with her shoulder. Steam filled the room and Dusty vanished.

Kirby turned and looked and Kodi disdainfully.

Kodi, who lay on his stomach under the back bench, felt Kirby's resentment flowing across the room to him. He rolled his eyes away from the scorn, and set his head down on his paws. Closing his eyes, he feigned sleep instantly.

Kirby shook his head and turned back to his sleeping spot. The thought that his team was falling apart because of one bad apple was eating him away at him in some microscopic way. He knew though that it would only get worse, it just depended on how long, and in what way.


	9. Training Day

**Chapter 9 **

Morning came to the town of Nome like all other mornings. The dark of the night slowly began to edge away from the buildings and the sky above began to open up to a slate grey covering. Only this grey looked like snow filled every nook and cranny of the sky, bulging down with the weight of it. It would only be a while until the snow-laden clouds would drop their heavy loads onto the town and surrounding area.

It was in this early morning siesta time that the mail-team woke begrudgingly from the warmth and comfort of the boiler room and began their early morning quest to the post office. They did so with low held heads that nearly dragged in the snow. A few eyes moved towards the sky and took note of the heavy snow which was soon to come, but most were just too tired to even care.

The night had been horrible. With Kodi leaving and then returning, then Dusty doing the same, the night had been a farce as far as sleep went. And today would be a day full of hard training that wouldn't end until Mr. Simpson said so or one of them dropped dead in the traces.

Everybody moved in an unorganized line through the streets. Nobody talked. Only the sounds of their paws masticating the snow reverberating off the buildings made noise.

All of them moved into the main street of Nome. Nothing but dark empty windows and a few forlorn street lights about to go out greeted them. They passed quickly and walked to the back of the Post Office where Mr. Simpson was already expecting them with the old traces lined out along the snow and hooked to the sled.

"Come on boys, let's get going." Mr. Simpson yelled as they came into view, his voice flush with excitement. "We need to get training," He turned his body towards the sky and set his hands on his hips. "Burning daylight."

Ralph causally turned to Kirby as the team moved towards the sled. "Glad to see he's happy at least."

Kirby glanced at Ralph and continued on to the sled without a word.

Mr. Simpson positively jumped with joy at the sight of his team. They were strong, they were keen; but after the training regimen he had come up with the night before they would be unbeatable. He grabbed Kip and Fell in each mitten, and before they even realized they were being held they were in front of the sled with their harnesses on and all set to go.

Mr. Simpson grabbed Dusty and had her hooked up to the sled in just a moment.

Then when it came time to grab Ralph and stick him in next to Dusty, something changed. Mr. Simpson suddenly grabbed Kodi's collar and yanked him from his sitting position without warning, choking Kodi's neck.

Before Kodi actually recovered in the slightest, he was all set and tied in securely without the possibility of being moved. His eyes roamed up at Mr. Simpson as he stood full upright.

Mr. Simpson shrugged his shoulder almost painfully. "Sorry boy, but …"

"But what!" Kodi yelled. "One mess up, and that's it?" Alas to Kodi, Mr. Simpson couldn't hear him speak, and continued hooking up Ralph and Kirby in the two lead positions.

_Maybe it's just a joke, _Kodi thought franticly. _Yeah, any moment Mr. Simpson will turn and around and tell me that it's just a joke. _ Kodi hopped and prayed inside his head it would all just be in fun. Although he already knew it wasn't.

Mr. Simpson finished with Kirby and Ralph in just a minute flat each, putting Kirby in the lead left position. They Mr. Simpson stood and surveyed how he had his team all set. "Good." He stated to himself through half frozen red lips. With that he turned and walked around the front of the post office to warm his face and hands and retrieve the outgoing mail for the mail run.

As soon as Mr. Simpson vanished from their sight, Kirby and Ralph both whipped around and face Kodi full on. "Kodi I had no idea." Ralph stated as sincere as he could. "This doesn't mean that I'm a better leader than you in the least."

"Yeah," Kirby agreed. "Yesterday doesn't matter. You should be up here in the lead left position. It should be how it was."

Kodi could feel the authenticity of their comforting explanations, and he bowed his head three times in understanding. He half closed his eyes and bowed his head once more towards the snow. "Don't worry about it. I guess I had it coming."

A moment of the most awkward silence Ralph or Kirby had ever heard passed, then vanished as Ralph padded his paws in the snow and let and long grin slither across his face. "But it really is cool that I'm in front."

"Ralph," Kirby growled. "Clam it."

"Sorry." Ralph returned, yet Kodi and Kirby could both tell he wasn't being completely earnest in his apology.

"Kodi," Began Kirby. "This is probably just about the other day when you led us around in circles. Mr. Simpson's probably just getting you back for all of that. You know I really don't want to be the leader, you're a great leader, and Mr. Simpson knows that. And maybe if you show him that you learned your lesson, you'll get back up to the lead position faster than ever."

A small giggle emanated from Dusty, brining the attention of the entire team to her. "Boys." She almost laughed as their full attention rested on her. "A little hurt to your pride and you all fall to pieces."

Kodi glared at Dusty with a whole new brand of malignity; Dusty didn't even let a single hair on her nose wrinkle.

"Dusty," Kirby turned his body towards her and took a warning stance. "We don't need your input on this. This is something very serious"

"Oh, I'm sure you don't." She grinned devilishly. "And I'm sure it's serious, just like when your leader talks about you behind your _back!_" Dusty hissed.

"Dusty that has nothing to do with what happened here." Kodi turned to Dusty. "Absolutely nothing."

"Yeah right." Dusty scoffed with a roll of her eyes. "It has everything to do with what happened."

"No it doesn't!" Kodi barked back.

Kirby and Ralph both looked at each other. The tension between Kodi and Dusty had begun to build, growing quickly without any sign it would stop without blood or at least a good barking.

"Oh sure, breaking the heart of your teammate, is _much _less hurtful than loosing your lead position." Dusty spoke.

"Well … err … yea – I mean no, well sort of." Kodi fumbled.

"Come one Kodi, admit it, you know it hurts."

"No!" Kodi shot at Dusty. "It does hurt, but …"

Silence befell both of them and an awkward stillness filled with a queer sensation crowded in close to the entire team. Kodi and Dusty both stared into each others eyes waiting for the other to break.

"Dusty?" A new voice chimed.

All the pent-up rage and stillness broke like a plug in a bathtub, it all ran out. Standing directly behind Dusty, just off to her right side, a large exceptionally handsome black and white male dog looked on with a curious, almost loving, look on his face.

Dusty turned to the voice and jumped with joy at the face before her. "Sarge!" She screamed out in an unnatural giddy voice. She giggled at herself and the smile that crossed Sarge's face before giving him a quick nuzzle. "What are you doing here?"

"I figured I'd see you off." He grinned. "Then I heard you arguing with him." Sarge raised his nose briefly towards Kodi, while dropping his voice to a deep seriousness "Figured you might want someone to back you up just in case." He grinned coyly.

Kodi felt a tinge of fear fly up his spine. Kodi always saw himself as a fairly large dog, able to take most any comers on. But this dog standing in front of him was at least a foot taller at the shoulders and looked like he could be a whole lot meaner if he wanted to.

"No." Dusty smirked at Sarge. "I got everything under control." She turned towards Kodi and her smile drooped. "Kodi's just a big puppy who can't hold his tongue."

Sarge grinned at this and let a little snigger escape him. "So when do you think you'll be back Dusty?"

Dusty sighed. "Oh, probably tomorrow at noon or a little later." She looked at Kirby and Ralph. "Do you two think we can make it back by then?"

"Uh. Yeah. I think we can do that. Don't you think Kirby?"

"Yeah, yeah, no problem." They both answered from the dreamy state of shock they were stuck in.

"Good." Dusty jumped a little and looked once again at the male dog standing near her. She leaned in close to him "So I guess I'll see you then, right?"

"Of course you will." Sarge whispered back as he closed in for a long heartfelt nuzzle.

Kodi's eyes moved over to Kirby and Ralph with the expectation for an answer to this. Kirby met his look and shrugged his shoulder and face in unknowing. Ralph did the same.

"Well I don't want to keep you from doing your job." Sarge began to step back from Dusty. "I'll be waiting for you when you get back okay?"

"Okay." Dusty grinned. "Love you."

"Love you to." Sarge began to turn away when he stopped sidelong to the team. "And you two in the lead be sure to get her back here on time."

"Sure thing." Kirby responded instantly.

Sarge paused for a moment and changed his voice to the subtle tone of seriousness Kodi had heard earlier. "And Kodi, you be good to Dusty. Got it!" Sarge turned and walked away before an answer could come. But Sarge hadn't worded it as something to be responded to.

As soon as the large dog wasout of sight, and most likely long out of hearing range, Kirby and Ralph both coiled around and faced Dusty with a swirl of questions. "Who was that?" "Where did you find him?" "He's huge." "How did you get him and where?"

Dusty just grinned. "Boy's, boy's boys … I've known him for quite a while, since we were pups. He's always been interested in me."

"Really?" Ralph beamed. "What does he do? I mean he's clearly a working dog …"

"Does he run sled like us?" Kirby threw in, genuinely interested in Dusty's new love.

"No, no. He doesn't run sled. He's actually a fighting dog."

Kirby's eyes opened wide and his ears stood on end. Ralph on the other paw dropped his face and ears to the side of his head while squinting his eyes. "So, he's …?"

"A fighting dog." Dusty almost laughed. She let her eyes creep over to Kodi to see his reaction to this. And just like she wanted there seemed to be a hint of terror in him. "He fights other dogs." She continued telling Ralph. "He fights other dogs in the barn outside of town where they have the dog fights every week. He's very good. He's been doing it since we were pups."

"Wow." Was all Kirby could say. "Aren't you afraid of him? I mean some of those dogs are really mean and … well, mean."

"No," Dusty scoffed. "He's just a big puppy. He's really nice to me, always has been. And he knows exactly how to treat a girl." She glanced once again at Kodi out of the corner of her eye. Kodi had a look of anger and frustration, but the terror of Sarge obviously kept him silent. "I think he would probably do anything for me if I asked him to."

"Really? Do you think you could get him to teach me some fighting moves? I'm not very good" Ralph confessed, then began to growl and twirl around and throw his paws out like he was fighting an invisible enemy. Then quite suddenly he dropped onto his back and began kicking his legs into the air. "AHH, AHH HE'S GOT ME." At which everyone laughed and giggled, all except Kodi who looked away into the snow. An uncontrollable pain hurt him deep inside, and there seemed to be no bottom to the pool of self pity and silent superficial hate he floundered in.

"OKAY, let's get going."

Everyone turned to the corner of the post office where Mr. Simpson appeared with two sacks of mail and clothed to the teeth in his cold weather gear. "Let's get this gravy train under way." He moved briskly over to the sled and threw the mail on, then paused. A thought crept up Mr. Simpson's brain stem and he looked at his dogs with a grin. Turning, Mr. Simpson walked to the sled and harness shed and entered, only to reappear several loud metal clanging seconds later with an armload of scrap-metal pieces. He returned to the sled and began slipping the different shapes of metal into the many open spots in the sled basket until everything he held was gone. Mr. Simpson grasped the back of the sled when he finished and clucked out. "HIKE." The training had begun.


	10. Jenna's Question

**Chapter 10 **

"Just hold on a minute Jenna." Rosy said from the heart of the living-room with a tone of mixed anger and boredom. She set the doll she had been combing endlessly on the floor, laggard to her feet, and walked into the kitchen.

Jenna stood at the door in the kitchen scratching the paint from the inside of the door and yipping quietly so as not to anger her master, or her masters parents. Emotions inside the house had grown tense, and Jenna didn't want any part of them since she had her own problems with her family.

Rosy's demeanor seemed to improve drastically at the sight of Jenna in the kitchen, and she even let a smile cross her face. "You know girl, I wish I had fur like you. Then I could go outside whenever I wanted." She walked up behind Jenna and gave her a scratch on the back of the head. "You know what I mean girl?"

Jenna yipped louder and hopped up onto the door slashing her nails against the wood.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Rosy's voice turned back into her mixed anger and boredom. She grabbed a woolen mitten off the nearby counter and placed it over her right hand, then grabbed the frosty brass doorknob. "Now don't have to much fun, because I won't." Rosy opened the door just a crack, a gust of snow and cold blew in as Jenna curved her body around the door and slipped out. The door closed with a rather rude slam just after Jenna's tail cleared its edge.

Jenna moved into the grey light of the day without hesitating in the least. The cold air rushed around Jenna, bringing her fur once again straight and stiff so she looked puffy and fat. Her paws instantly grew cold and stung like needles piercing the soft flesh of her underfoot.

She moved through the streets quickly, passing by large stockpiles of wood and under golden windows casting bands of light into the skinny alleys. As Jenna passed under the windows the light from lanterns inside the homes titillated the frost in her fur until a golden halo surrounded her before she continued on into the darkness, and the light subsided.

Reaching the edge of the town, Jenna didn't pause to second think or examine the trail out to Balto's boat. She plunged in full force out onto the arctic tundra with blowing snow, darkness, and cold. The boat she aimed for came clearly through, big and hulking like a tomb silhouetted against a grey sky and flat solid Arctic Ocean.

Jenna pumped her skinny feet along as fast as she could muster them to go. Yet it didn't seem to be moving her any closer or any faster. It took several minutes for her to cross the great span to her mate's boat, and she didn't hesitate to yell out as she passed under the bow. "Balto?"

Not even waiting for an answer, Jenna continued on around under the bow of the boat and to the bent plank on the side. "Balto?"

An answer didn't follow, and Jenna continued up the plank and onto the deck. "Balto?" She asked in a softer tone, then made a beeline for the wheelhouse. There she found Balto tucked back against one of the corners in as small a space as he could fit; his entire body secluded under the warmth of his wool blanket except for the very tip of his bushy wolfish tail which jettisoned out from one corner.

Jenna opened her mouth wide like she was about to drop hell on Balto; but she snapped her jaw shut before she could speak, a flash of malevolent cunning crossed her face. Then, quite slowly and carefully, she crept forwards, inching and pacing her way towards Balto with the utmost care until she stood over the tip of his exposed tail.

Raising her left paw up until it matched the height of her chest; she slammed it down hard on the fluffy tip of Balto's tail.

"YEEOW!!!" Balto sputtered to life and began throwing his paws out from under his body as hard and fast as he could, trying with all desperation to stand up and get away from the terrible pain running like cold water up his back. The blanket flew to the side as Balto bounced up and locked his eyes on Jenna. "What did you do that for?!?!" He hardly cared for the answer as he bent around examined the tip of his tail, nothing appeared to be broken or out of place, but the pain still lingered and made him shiver. Or was it the sudden burst of cold air that had done it?

Jenna couldn't help but start laughing as she backed out of the wheelhouse onto the deck. Balto followed her out with a wary look, letting his tail swish back and forth with the thought that maybe the motion might ease it.

Balto examined it one more time before sitting down in front of Jenna, being sure to not sit on his tail or put any weight on the end of it. "You know you could have broken it. Wouldn't you have felt bad if you did that?"

Her laughter began to subside. "Yeah, I would have." Jenna confessed with a very sincere tone. She stepped forward and nuzzled Balto tenderly. "But if I broke it I'd be sure to let you break mine, because I love you." She continued rubbing the side of her face against his.

Balto's heart fell and all bitterness he had vanished with an equally loving nuzzle. "You know how to push my buttons just right. You know that?"

Jenna pulled her head back and winked. "Of course I do." She paused, then stepped back and twirled around to recompose herself in a more business like fashion. She set herself down onto the deck and took up a stately pose "So … what did you learn about Kodi and what happened?"

"Sure." Balto smiled. "First you torture me, then you pump me for information." He stood quarter of the way up and moved his tail to the other side of his body before sitting down again.

"Of course I would. Now why don't tell me what Kodi told you?" Jenna said with an annoyed tone.

Balto thought on how he could word this well, but nothing seemed like it would be something that would keep Jenna from blasting off in some way. "Well … Kodi didn't really … say anything."

"What?!" Jenna snapped to her feet and barked outright. "What do you mean he didn't really say anything?" She snapped at Balto who almost looked to be trembling under her threatening posture.

"Wait wait. I mean he did speak to me, and he did tell me what happened." Balto shot back.

Jenna calmed and returned to her sitting position with ease. Yet her eyes held a deep apprehension to what the outcome of the conversation with Kodi had actually been.

Balto continued. "Well, Kodi told me that after they finished up at the post office that Dusty had to be left behind to get some medicine put on her paws. So Kirby, Ralph, and Kodi all went to the boiler room to warm up. Kirby and Ralph both began making fun of Kodi's, supposed, crush on Dusty, and he freaked on them."

The story sounded really scrambled together for Jenna – possibly a lie. "That doesn't explain why he started talking about Dusty the way he did. I mean she didn't do anything wrong. Why did she get yelled at?" Jenna said flatly.

Balto bowed his head and scratched his paw against the deck in a sidetracked way. "The conversation moved away from that when Dakota showed up. Kodi did admit to yelling those things about Dusty, but we never went into detail about it." Balto confessed with a deep-seated tone of failure.

"So what did you tell Kodi after this?" Jenna asked in a rather perturbed kind of way.

"I told him what I thought I should. I told him I understood that he had just lost his cool and done something stupid. I told him I was shocked and disappointed in him because of it, and so were you. And that was about it. I didn't really see any reason to tell him anything else; he would only be angry if I tried to give him advice. He's a grown dog."

Jenna sighed with a loud groan and moved to her feet. She pointed her thin muzzle at Balto with one of the saddest looks she had ever given. "Balto, I figured you'd have more insight into this. This doesn't answer any of the questions I came out here with. I knew that Kodi blew up behind Dusty's back, and Dusty had heard him. I know this. I wanted to know if something's wrong with Kodi in his personal life that we might be able to help him with. Do you know what I mean Balto?" She sat back down and tears began to form around her eyes as she looked away towards the ocean. "I'm just worried about our son. I want him to … succeed, to … you know."

Balto stood and moved up next to Jenna until their sides touched and began to talk quietly into her ear, pressing as much of his body against hers. "I don't think there's much Kodi would want us to do, or we could do. He has his problems with talking to girls as we know, and he doesn't want any help with it. It'd embarrass him. I think he's just going to have to do this on his own. It would be best if we just stay as clear as we possibly can."

A heavy sigh - almost a breath of a huffed cry - escaped Jenna. She turned her head away to hide her weakness from her mate.

"It's okay." Balto reassured Jenna, pressing his body closer to hers and letting his head slide over her shoulder. "Everything will be just fine. You'll see."

And there, as Balto held Jenna close, their heat moving into each other, Balto wondered idly if everything would be fine.


	11. The Past Returns

**Chapter 11. **

(_One Week Later.)_

Kodi sat in complete and total darkness in a place tucked back in a dark alley. It was a place he hadn't been to since he was a pup. The alley stood barely five feet wide and stuffed so full of glass bottles, wood, furniture, mattresses, and other garbage the fence at the end of the alley bulged and was beginning to break. Piles of garbage surrounded the only enterable hole in the fence on the one end, camouflaging it perfectly so dogs who might have been looking for Kodi would never find him.

Tucked back by himself on an old mattress with several musty pillows stacked around for warmth Kodi found a little solace from the world; especially since he couldn't find it at the boiler room with his friends. Here there was nobody around to mock him about his demotion which stuck so stubbornly to him every dog in Nome knew it well and asked him point-blank about it. This hurt Kodi to the point of physical pains which shot through his skull each time he was asked about it. Kodi knew, just knew it in his soul, that everybody laughed about him when he wasn't around. _At least my lack of friends in Nome isn't known to well. _Kodi thought to try and cheer himself up, but the thought didn't help any.

Nearly a week had passed since the dark day Kodi lost his lead place on the team. For a few days Kodi brushed it off as Mr. Simpson getting even; yet every other day when he showed up for the mail run he stood in the same spot running mindlessly, getting fed, and having a rubdown of the old shoulders. His friends weren't the least bit helpful either.

_My friends,_ Kodi laughed in his mind. They hadn't been his friends since the arrival of Sarge. Sarge was the new Kodi. He showed up ever day when the team left or returned and smiled and nuzzled Dusty like a puppy. He made a few jokes which would break the team up into hysterical fits, then invite everybody on some adventure around town or somewhere. The only place Sarge hadn't taken was the lead of the team, which Kirby and Ralph both held without end, even though they didn't do that good a job. _If I get the lead back I'm not going to let it go for the life of me._ Kodi decreed to himself bitterly.

"KOOOOODI!" Came a long mournful cry, making Kodi jump from his thoughts back to the bleak alley of reality. "Where are you?" It was Kirby, and he was close.

"You know, I just don't understand that dog sometimes." Kirby commented rather intelligently to Ralph.

Ralph seemed the least bit entertained as his half-asleep eyes bolted open several seconds later when he realized he needed to speak up. "Uh, yeah."

"You're not even paying attention to me." Kirby accused with an condemning point from his muzzle.

"Yeah I am." Ralph shot back rather annoyed. "I'm just not listening."

Kirby rolled his eyes and looked away from Ralph who walked lethargically at his side. "KODI!!!" Kirby shouted. "Where are you! … you stupid mutt." He finished with a murmur.

They continued walking in silence down the long street.

"But do you know what I'm saying when I say I'm kind of worried about Kodi." Kirby turned his wide face towards Ralph.

"What do you mean?" Ralph tilted his head up towards Kirby. "He seems fine."

"Fine?" Kirby chuckled and looked Ralph over to see if he was serious. "We haven't heard him speak more than ten words at a time since he got demoted."

Ralph looked to be thinking about it for a moment. "You know, I think you're right. I haven't seen Kodi hang out with us in a long time. You think he might be sick or something?"

"No, I think he might be feeling bad."

Ralph rolled his eyes and shook his head disdainfully. "You could have just said yes."

Kirby stopped dead in his tracks and twisted his face into confusion over where the conversation had gotten turned and he had gotten lost. Ralph continued on with head held slightly higher at the victory in logical thinking.

"No, no, no." Kirby said with a boost to his feet, brining him shoulder to shoulder with Ralph again. "I mean he's feeling bad about us being in the lead. And I think he might be feeling jealous about Sarge."

"Sarge?" Ralph scoffed with a shrug of his shoulders. "What does he have to be jealous about? I mean Sarge is _really _cool, and he knows so much about everything, and he's had some really cool adventures. Kodi's has had some … really … neat …" Ralph trailed off before he could embarrass his friend.

"Exactly what I mean. Kodi doesn't have much to compare with Sarge." Depression filled Kirby's voice like a warrior lost on the planes of despair; he sighed just to prove his point.

Ralph looked over at Kirby with a deep understanding, and a possible solution. "Maybe if we brought Kodi with us and got him to know Sarge a little better?"

Kirby shot Ralph a glare of pungent petulance. "That's a horrible idea."

"Why?" Ralph's head bounded back in disappointment. "It seems like a good idea in my head."

"The only reason it sounds good in your head is because there's nothing going on in there. Dusty and the Sarge don't exactly like Kodi, remember?"

"You're right, I guess they don't" Continued Ralph, a malignant grin grew across his face and the beginning of a laugh began to edge up on his lips "Neither do we for that much."

It could have just been perfect timing, a stroke of bad luck, or just some chance in space that at that exact moment Kodi stepped out into the street barely a foot in front of Kirby and Ralph. Kodi's eyes seared into his friends and flashed with acrimony deep as a bear's stomach.

"Err, a … Hi Kodi." Ralph sputtered at the utter shock of his teammate's presence.

"Hey Kodi, where ya been?" Kirby threw together with shaky haste.

Kodi had been listening in for some time, and in his mind barely saw it fit to cross their eyes with his own. Nevertheless what they did say was the truth. "Hey guys." Kodi said without enthusiasm, forgetting what they had said about him. "What do you want?"

Kirby seemed to be the first to snap away from the shock that Kodi might not have heard them talking about him. "Well, we just came to see what you've been up to."

"Yeah." Ralph agreed quickly.

Kodi looked them over for a better meaning. "Is that all?"

"No." Ralph submitted in a low tone which said there was more. "We also came to get you for Mr. Simpson. He's looking all over town for you."

"Why?" Kodi shook his head. "It's not the mail day, it's our day off, it's Sunday right?"

Kirby cleared his throat. "We're beginning to train in our off days now, and this morning when you weren't there we figured you didn't hear; so we came looking for you. We're running up north in the snow country today."

"Fine," Kodi submitted with a single bow of his head that stayed bowed. Pushing between Kirby and Ralph he began to walk in a less than happy, or even mildly enthused, way towards the post office.

Kirby and Ralph met eye's for a moment, then looked at Kodi, swinging his tail low to the snow. Without a second thought Kirby and Ralph both bolted to Kodi's sides.

Pulling up on Kodi's right side momentarily before Ralph did on the left, Kirby spoke low and right into his broken teammate's ear. "Hey Kodi, are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah," Kodi lied. "Just tired from all this extra pulling we've been doing lately."

"That's a pretty lame excuse Kodi." Ralph uttered without second thought. Two sets of eye's locked onto him immediately and drove Ralph to lower his ears at the stupid remark. "Sorry." He said under his breath.

"You know he is right Kodi." Kirby continued. "We really haven't been doing that much hard work lately, no more than usual when we run the mail, just a few more pounds on the sled is all."

Kodi locked eyes with Kirby, full of red rage to prove he didn't really care what Kirby was saying and his excuse still stood.

"Don't look at me," Kirby snapped back with a friendly chuckle. "You know it's true."

A small boost of energy pushed Kodi's paws forwards and he began to move away from his teammates.

"Come on Kodi." Kirby begged. "Don't be like that."

Kodi kept walking at his faster pace, gradually outdistancing the two tumors which held to his sides.

"Oh come on Kodi." Ralph spoke in the emerging energy of the conversation. "You're being puppyish and unfair."

Kodi's paws stopped cold in the snow and he turned, glaring with a frozen hate in his eyes never before seen by either of his friends. "What?"

Ralph stopped before he could get any closer to Kodi's razor sharp teeth and infuriated voice. "Nothing." He said clear, calm, and somewhat frightened of his teammate.

Kodi snapped his entire body around. "I am not being puppyish and unfair! I'm … I'm, just tired." He finished cheerlessly.

Kirby walked a few steps closer to Kodi stopped in front of him in a comforting way. "Don't worry about it. He doesn't know what he's saying Kodi; you know how he is." Kirby swirled his extended front toe around his ear and crossed his eyes.

The logic seemed to sink into Kodi, or perhaps he didn't wish to start another quarrel with yet another teammate. "Fine … but Ralph if you speak to me like that again don't think I won't do something." Kodi continued on, leaving Kirby, Ralph, and the tense moment behind as he rounded the corner at the end of the alley.

Ralph caught up to Kirby and looked sadly at him. "I didn't think I said anything that would upset him so bad."

"Don't worry." Kirby turned and continued. "Kodi's just having a hard time with everything."

Far north of Nome, nearly thirty five miles from the safety of town and nearly six thousand feet above the ocean, the team carried on in a never ending trudge through the thickest snow they had ever encountered in their life. It was already growing late in the day and the sun had fallen into the darkness beyond the earth. The only light that kept the team from plummeting over a hidden cliff being the green, blue, and red hue's of the northern lights that shimmered insecurely above the broken clouds. Plummeting temperatures and an acid wind blew across the ragged mountain plateau they stood on. The team continued traversing with something far less than ease or comfort.

"This sucks." Kirby rasped through his bared fangs of anger. By chance, or bad leadership, Kirby and Ralph had led the team into snow deeper than Mr. Simpson was tall. Kirby floundered forward into the snow, trying to knock down what was in front of him and build up a pad under him so he could leap forward into the powder to repeat it. Ralph copied him, and both panted and swore openly about their exhaustion.

The rest of the team could do nothing more than keep the slack on the two leaders as loose as they could, and keep from sliding off the trail into the unpacked sides.

"Don't worry boys, we're almost there." Mr. Simpson yelled on. "Just a couple more feet I can see it."

"I'm, so, bloody, tired." Ralph's dark form panted when he paused for a break while Kirby continued mashing. "And, my, toe is, just, _killing,_ me."

"Just keep trying Ralph, you're doing a good job; you to Kirby." Dusty encouraged. "Just remember that it can't last forever."

"Sure, seems, like it, could." Said Ralph before leaping into his harness at the snow in front of him with a growl.

Kodi glanced at Dusty and felt a dangerous feeling of acrimony flow through him towards her. Personally Kodi had found it quiet pleasantly to watch Kirby and Ralph work themselves to death at the lead. It seemed only fair they should suffer after the stuff he heard them talking about in the street several hours earlier. And whether the punishment came from Kodi, or just inauspicious luck, didn't much matter in Kodi's mind.

Dusty caught Kodi watching her and suddenly snapped at Kodi with her open jaws, barely missing Kodi. "What are you looking at!!?"

Kodi let his eyes cast slowly forward and felt the animosity burn in him more than ever; but he knew she didn't deserve it, neither did Kirby or Ralph for that matter.

Like a sudden break in the overwhelming tension put on the team the snow lessened in depth and the team broke out onto a windswept portion that stood under their feet as hard as a rock.

"WWWWHOOOOOO!!!" Mr. Simpsons screamed as the sled cleared the deep snow and began to slide down a windswept hill intermitted by scrub trees sticking out of the hard-pack in thick patches. The team picked up speed and Mr. Simpson let his right foot ease onto the snow to slow them before the team could get away from him.

As they moved down the mountain trees began to spring up all over. They were mostly small and stuck barely more than four feet out of the snow; but they began to grow thicker and thicker, and the team caught up in the throws of running, weaved through the trees madly and without hesitation.

Flying down the hill they quickly dropped out of the windswept fields and into thick trees which hung high above them with a distinct foreboding. The snow under their feet became deeper and fluffier, nothing quite as bad as they had on top of the mountain, yet still knee deep and unpleasant. No longer did the team bolt as fast as they could. They instead struggled along at a semi-fast pace that kept them just strolling along.

Kodi noticed the smell of the smoke first and caught the glimpse of firelight dancing along the tops of the trees several hundred feet away and to the left.

"Haw." Mr. Simpson said lightly, for he to had seen the fire.

Kirby and Ralph both turned the point of the team towards the light. "Oh, wow Kirby, do you see that?" Ralph stated suddenly.

"Yeah," Kirby agreed.

The team moved through the trees towards the strange firelight which always seemed just out of Kodi's view. There must have been a fallen log or something else which might be between him and the fire.

"Gee," Mr. Simpson whispered as he pushed the sled forward with a single firm stroke of his right foot. Kirby and Ralph both turned the team towards a stand of young willow trees near the fire.

"Whoa." Mr. Simpson stuck his foot firmly down in the snow. The team stopped and all eyes peered through the jail bar branches at the fire not more than fifteen feet away.

The fire barely burned inside a rock fortress which had been built up around it to conserve fuel and heat. A black coffeepot sat just off to the side letting steam curl out of it's lip and wisp away with the smoke in the gentler breeze. Nearby a two person canvas tent was set up and tied to two nearby trees. A dim yellow lantern light emanated from the inside of the tent. Back under a shaggy spruce tree a wood sled lay over on it's side; in front of the sled Nine dogs looked straight back at the team watching them, waiting for the intruding team to make a move.

"Well don't be a stranger." Came a shockingly high-pitched feminine voice from the tent. A figure in a bearskin overcoat appeared in the opening slit and stepped out into the light looking straight at Mr. Simpson. "You're not that sneaky. I could hear you half a mile off."

Mr. Simpson stepped off the sled and towards the person. "Please don't take offence if I'm wrong, but are you a woman?"

The girl laughed and pushed her gloved hand to the opening of her hood. She pulled the wolverine skin trimmed hood back over her shoulders revealing her feminine facial features. She had a very pale complexion compared to Mr. Simpson's dark skin. Blond hair stuck out from under her beaver skin hat in a messy way which said she hadn't taken real good care of it in a few days. "Yes, I am."

"Oh," Mr. Simpson said with stunned denseness.

The girl bent down and picked up the coffeepot and a cup and poured herself a cup. "Do you want some coffee? I have lots."

"Uh … sure. Let me just put my dogs up and get them comfortable." Mr. Simpson turned back to his sled and crunched through the snow.

"Just put them up near my dogs. There's some extra boughs I cut down their." The girl called and pointed towards the team lying under the spruce.

"Thanks but I'm afraid we might get some fighting going on." Mr. Simpson pulled up on a bag of rocks he had been carrying on the sled and set it in the snow.

The girl shrugged. "Don't worry, they won't bite. They're well behaved and had a good rough day breaking trail, so they're pretty exhausted."

"Okay then." Mr. Simpson called over his shoulder. He walked to the front of the team and grabbed the end of the gang-line, which rested between Kirby and Ralph, then pulled the team towards the fire. They all walked obediently past the fire and towards the other dogs resting beneath the tree. There Mr. Simpson tied the sled to the same tree that the girls sled was, and stretched his team out along the other dogs who watched Mr. Simpson work without interest or noise – most didn't even stir from their sleep to see who it was.

As soon as Mr. Simpson gave fish snacks to his dogs and gave them all their own equal share of love and shoulder rubbing, he grabbed his cup out of the sled-bag with his gear in it and waddled straight for the fire where the girl sat holding her cup watching the fire through her hood which she had put back up.

"So," Mr. Simpson said coming into the brightest light of the fire. "How's that coffee?"

The girl picked up the steaming coffeepot and held it out to him. Mr. Simpson held out his cup and watched as she poured the dark brown liquid into it. "Depends on how you like it Mr..."

"Oh," Mr. Simpson switched the cup from his right glove to his left, then extended his right gloved hand out. "Simpson."

"Nice to meet you Mr. Simpson." She said taking his hand and shaking it once. "My name's Bonnie."

Mr. Simpson grinned. "Nice to me you to Bonnie." He took a long audible sip of his coffee and clearly smacked his lips when finished. "It's good."

"Thanks." Bonnie patted the log next to her with her free hand. "Why don't you take a seat and make yourself comfortable?"

Mr. Simpson smiled through his fur ruff. "Well, I don't mind if I do. I'm awfully tired." He made a loud groan as his weight rested on the log and off his worn muscles.

"You have a fine team there." Bonnie pointed with her mitten to the dogs resting peacefully in the snow.

"Well thanks." Mr. Simpson responded looking once over his shoulder.

"I just have one question. What are you doing out here?" Bonnie asked quite politely and very bluntly, which was expected considering where he was.

"I'm training for the Alaska 500." Mr. Simpson sipped his coffee.

"Oh," Bonnie said with genial surprise, yet in some way she wasn't surprised in the least and didn't ask any more.

"So I got a question for you." Mr. Simpson said indicating with a twist of his coffee cup to her. "What are you doing out here?"

She sighed. "I'm just waiting for my husband."

Mr. Simpson had been halfway through a long sip of his coffee when he spit it back into the cup and chocked what was left down in his throat, almost puking.

Bonnie giggled at the foolish sight. "Oh, you thought that these were my dogs."

"Well I only saw you here so I just figured …" Mr. Simpson trailed off.

"No." She turned her body so Mr. Simpson could see her face. "They're my husband's dogs. He's coming down to sign up for the Alaska 500. I must warn you, he's very good, and very competitive when it comes to racing."

"So where is your husband?" Mr. Simpson looked absently around the woods.

"He went looking for more wood ten or fifteen minutes ago. He should be back any moment." Bonnie responded with an almost sad tone. "But I…"

Ralph groaned. "Oh that hurt so bad." He held his foot with the broken nail up; his entire body froze with pain at the sight of the broken and bleeding nail.

"Oh come on Ralph it can't hurt that bad." Kirby slapped the nail with his left paw.

Kirby screeched and nipped at Ralph. "Don't do that!" He groaned in intense pain. "You have no idea how much that hurt."

Kodi had grown incredibly board with Kirby and Ralph. He felt an extreme need to get up and go away from everyone, or at the very least talk to someone else.

Just by chance the leader of the other team had been laid out right next to Kodi. He laid back under the dark shadow of a low hanging branch heavy with snow which cast him under a dark shadow. Only his white feet stuck out close enough to Kodi for him to notice his color.

"What are you looking at?" The voice growled with a certain voice of abhorrence that spilled forth from his maw in such a foul way it made Kodi clench, but not from any smell.

"Sorry." Kodi turned away to excuse the act of cringing. "I didn't mean to stare."

"Only a leader of another team has the right to speak to me." The dog accused.

Kodi turned back towards the voice and glared sharply at him. "Hey! I'll have you know that I was the leader of this team for nearly a year and a half."

"Is that so?" The lead dog laughed derisively. "So what happened?"

Kodi didn't like the way the dog talked, it belittled Kodi and made him feel inferior. Although this leader, by the sound of his voice, obviously had some years on Kodi, it didn't seem right that he should be talked down on like he was. "None of your business." Kodi snapped.

The dog laughed in approval. "That sounds like a leader." He laughed more. "Don't worry, I don't care how you ended up where you are. I've been put down and back in the line a few times in my life."

"Thanks." Kodi felt a little better. "You just sounded very proud that you're in the lead and I'm not right now."

"That's how a leader should sound when he leads." The dog turned dead serious. "He should take command at all times, demand their respect, teach his team what's what, and never take no for an answer."

"That sounds like good advice for you, but I could never just take command of my friends. We always make decisions together." Kodi realized he was still speaking of his team as his friends. Were they really what he considered his friends anymore? Kodi thought not.

He looked at Dusty who had her head on her paws in the snow resting, Kip and Fell followed suit behind her, and Kirby and Ralph looked busy in some meaningless conversation over snow quality and toe hurt to know if it were day or night.

The dog in the shadows laughed. "And it's that kind of thinking that will never get you in the lead."

Kodi shook his head. "I suppose that's true. But how would I go about taking the lead."

"Take it!" The lead dog snapped forward until his black nose came into Kodi's sight. "When you see an opportunity, seize it by the throat and don't let up until it's yours." The dog in the shadows took a long breath, pulled his nose back into the darkness, and lay back over on his side. "But I'm getting ahead of myself." He chuckled dreamily. "What may I ask is your name?"

"Kodi."

"Sounds like a good name, Kodi, a good leader's name. Tell me, where are you from?" The dog sounded sinister and plotting even as he rested.

Kodi could feel the cackles on the back of his neck standing. "Nome."

"Nome." The dog sat up and perked his ears. "I once lived in Nome, until I was no longer wanted around those parts." His voice turned astringent and sad.

"Why?" Kodi asked in genuine interest.

"It doesn't matter now." The dog waved his paw at it. But then he paused and spoke. "But, you might know some of my old friends? I haven't been to Nome in years, but I bet they're still there. "

"I might." Kodi smiled and shrugged his shoulders. "Just tell me their names."

"Let me see … there's Nicky … Caltag … and Star. They were my closest friends when I lived around those parts." The dog sounded as if he were making up names.

"Sure." Kodi said shrugging his shoulders again. "I know them; I grew up with them practically."

"Really." The lead dog said in genuine shock. He breathed hard, as if remembering something painful. "Then you might have heard about a girl I once knew?"

"Probably." Kodi responded.

"Her name was Jenna." The dog threw out rather suddenly, expecting it to come back empty-handed, or just some passing face across Kodi's memory.

"Jenna." Kodi laughed; Kirby glanced over his shoulder at the excitement but continued with his story to Ralph. "She's my mother."

Silence befell the dog in the shadows as his blue eyes stared silently ahead. For a long while it continued and Kodi wondered if he had said something he shouldn't have.

"Might I ask, who your, father, is, then?"

Kodi felt it odd that the dog had to enunciate each word in his sentence, as if fighting something back with everything he had, yet wanting to know even though he could only say it through clenched teeth. "Uh – yeah, Balto. Do you know him?"

Another moment of silence, the shadow of the dog watched Kodi as if thinking of something dark within his won heart. "Yeah, I know him." He said without a hint of emotion. "Me and him go way back."

"Really?"

"Yeah." The dog said without conches thought on it. "We knew each other quite well."

"Wow," Kodi laughed. "I don't know why I've never heard my dad talk abou -"

"-We separated on bad terms." The dog snapped bitterly. "He probably just doesn't like brining up the past to much, especially about me."

"So what happened to you and my dad to break up a friendship?" Kodi asked.

"Your mother." The dog said flatly. "Me and your father both loved her. But your father stole her away from me; so I left town." A growl came from deep within the dog's throat, but stayed low. "Let's not dwell on the past though, I want to get to know _you_ better Kodi, what are you doing out here?"

"Oh here comes my husband." Bonnie said pointing into the woods far to her left. A great hulking mass came through the trees carrying a bundle of four inch thick logs and dressed to the teeth in furs. He had a full beard of brown fur and dark accusing eye's. Bonnie stood and left the warmth of the fire to her husband's side. As he stepped close to the fire he dropped the logs and instantly made a great pile of wood, enough to keep a fire lit for a day and a half if one was frugal.

The man caught the stranger in his sight and pointed his bare hand at him. "Who are you?" He snapped with a thunderous voice.

"Don't worry." Bonnie pleaded at his side and threw her arm loosely around him. "He was just cold and saw my fire so I offered him some coffee."

The man turned to his wife. "I told you not to trust anyone! What if he tried to hurt you or steal something, or worse?"

"Oh don't be like that. I knew he wouldn't hurt me. Besides, I can handle myself." She smiled sweetly.

"I don't care." The man locked his eyes on Mr. Simpson and stepped forward out of his wife's grip and parted his coat. "You got your coffee and you got to warm up, now get out of here mister before I shoot you!" He fingered an object under his coat that had a long handle which stuck out at a quick draw angle.

Mr. Simpson didn't need to be asked twice and he stood quite slowly, trying not to show the fear that pumped violently through him, and walked to the tree where his dogs were tied.

"I guess I got to go." Kodi said standing up.

"Don't worry." The dog smiled. "I'll see you in Nome here, maybe you can come hang out with us. Just remember what I told you about getting your lead place back before the Alaska 500."

"Wait, I didn't get your name though." Kodi said stretching his muscles out in preparation to use them.

The dog leaned forward out of the shadows. Black and white fur covered his face and his long muscular muzzle. "My name's Steel." He grinned. "Tell your dad and mom I said hi."

"Will do." Kodi grinned.

"COME ON HIKE HIKE!!!" Mr. Simpson yelled and the team took off and moved on down the mountain, and back to Nome.


	12. Steel's Threat

**Chapter 12**

_(One day later.)_

Night came with an invigorated strength from the darkness of the northland beyond the mountains and tundra. A wind packed with bits of ice pummeled the town, driving razor sharp tines through any opening in loose clothing or lousy constructed buildings with little insulation. Inside the houses stoves burned with red-hot intensity against the cold and darkness. Wood stood in great piles near the fire thawing so they could ultimately be warm enough to burn. Lanterns grew dim with use and people grew sick and tired of the endlessness to the cold. Death stalked every man, women, child, and dog like the cackles across their very own necks.

They came like ghosts across the land; their breath thick and ghoulish before their eyes which shimmered against the lights of town. Their ears and noses keen against the weather, the town, their master, and anything. Animals, lusting for pleasures and rest which came little and far between for this certain team of dogs. Behind the dog a sled bounced along across the snow groaning, cracking, and scratching. A human form steadily attached to the back of the sled kept his intuitive eyes on all his dogs for any weakness which might develop. His small wife sat in the sled basket with her coat wrapped tightly around her watching the dogs toil.

As the team entered town the lantern flames which hung on their poles quivered with a gust of wind that sent the light swaying fanatically about the sides of the buildings. The team slowed to a steady walk and the leader, Steel, wrinkled his upper lip at the town. The dog right behind steel, a pure black and pure blood husky noticed this.

"What is it Steel?"

"Nothing!" Steel snapped. "Just memories Char. Keep your nose in your own business."

Steel continued unhurried through the town. In a way he expected a trap to be sprung on him at any moment, and leading the charge right to Steels jugular would be that cutthroat Balto. He could still see that mongrels loose hair and bright yellow eyes whenever he thought of Nome, or Jenna.

_Jenna, _Steel mouthed silently. The thought of her made him quiver with uncontrollable rage; rage at her for never choosing Steel as her mate, rage at her for choosing a half-wolf to bear her children.

But her name also made steel tremble with affection; her beautiful fur and shape, the way she would smile and settle even the most unruly dog to the level of an obedient puppy, and her eyes which looked like pools of silver in the darkest of forests, perfect, beautiful. He had to see her again.

"GEE!!" Mr. Miller, Steel's new owner, commanded.

Steel turned the team right down the main street of Nome. Nobody stood on the streets at this late hour, only the yellow glow of lanterns guided them along towards the only hotel in Nome.

The team pulled up under the Hotel Nome sign. "WHOA" Mr. Miller said stepping from the sled. He turned to his wife before she could pull herself from under the blanket she had over her. "Put the dogs up out back and bring our stuff around to the front here. I'll go in and pay for our room." He walked up the front steps and through the door before she could've disagreed.

Bonnie sighed and pulled herself out of the sled. Her eye's instantly locked onto Steel. "Now be nice to me Steel." She pleaded presumptuously. "I don't want to hurt you, and you don't want to hurt me, right?"

Steel watched Bonnie as she came walking towards him, her mitten outstretched towards his harness. A growl began to emanate from Steel as she neared him.

"Come on Steel, don't be this way." She reached closer without fear.

Like a flash Steel lashed out with his teeth and caught her mitten full in his mouth, tearing it from her hand as she flew backwards and away into the snow. She screamed and came back upright, then lashed out with her boot catching steel in the ribs and causing him to scream out with a high-pitched squeal.

"What the hell is going on out here!!!!?" Mr. Miller said running out of the door, leaving it wide open and steaming into the night. He walked steadily down the steps and to his wife's side as she held her hand close to her body. "What happened?"

Bonnie turned to her husband. "Steel bit me." She said timidly. "So I kicked him."

Mr. Miller didn't hesitate for a second, he threw his hands into the front of his wife's coat and spun her around to the hotel where he threw her down into the snow at the foot of the stairs. "YOU EVER TOUCH MY LEAD DOG AGAIN I'LL BREAK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" He screamed and pointed his bare finger at her. Then to seal his words he launched his right boot hard into Bonnie's thigh. "Now get inside!" He pointed towards the door like a parent to a child. "NOW!"

Bonnie stood and limped up the steps into the Hotel post haste, closing the door behind her.

Mr. Miller grabbed Steel's harness and pulled him around the corner of the building towards the back. Mr. Miller grabbed Steel and ran his hands lightly and with prideful tenderness across his prized dog. Mr. Miller was expecting Steel to screech out in pain as soon as he touched him, and he knew that if Steel did his wife would hear about it as well. But Steel didn't even whimper at his masters hands finished rubbing him down.

"Good." Mr. Miller smiled. "Nothing broke or hurt to bad." He stood straight up and looked down on his dog. "Let's get you boy's settled down."

The empty lot behind the Hotel had been set up specifically for the comfort of dogs since they were the main mode of transportation. There were a hundred little dog boxes placed in rows with small sections of chains hooked to each house; not enough chain for a dog to have much free room, but enough for him to keep occupied and out of trouble for a while. They all looked dreary and dismal with a fresh layering of snow over their roofs and inside them.

Mr. Miller unhooked Steel from his harness first, then attached him to the nearest house. He continued down the line until all his dogs stood, or laid down, inside or out of their little homes letting their muscles relax. Finally Mr. Miller finished up the evening with his dogs by pulling out his alcohol stove and large metal five gallon bucket. He filled the bucket with snow he scooped from a large pile which had collected under the eve of a nearby building and set it on the stove which he lit with a single match. To this he added six fish, which he cut in two, and several large pieces of moose meat. After thirty or so minutes of stirring the concoction he pulled out some nesting silver dishes from his sled bag, and served out a large bowl to each of his dogs. As they ate Mr. Miller put all his cooking stuff away in the sled bag, pushed the sled into a corner of the yard where it would be out of the way, and carried a cotton sack containing clothing around the front of the hotel and away for the night.

Steel felt very unsettled at being back in the town he had long ago forgot. He moved and twitched as if fleas were attacking every part of his body; or he had accidentally got some coffee in his slump.

The pure black husky who had noticed Steel's anxious behavior earlier lifted his head from his paws. He watched Steel twitch his eye's around and stand stiff-legged in front of his box just a few feet away "Hey Steel."

Steel snapped around on his chain and faced the voice. "What!"

"Take it easy Steel." The dog said as calm as possible. "You've been jumpy ever since we got here. What's wrong?"

"Nothing Terr." Steel replied. "I'm just excited is all."

Terr raised his eyebrows. "Why's that?"

"Do you remember when I first met you and told you about that wolf dog who took my life from me?"

Terr looked back in his mind. "Uh … yeah, I believe so."

"And do you remember how much I wanted to hurt him?" Steel growled.

"Yeah."

"How much I wanted him to suffer, to die?"

"Yeah."

Steel paused, letting the silence of the moment build up the plan he had formulated in his head. "And do you remember that husky I met out on the trail yesterday?"

"Yeah … but what does he have to do with the wolf dog?"

"He's the wolf dogs son." Steel grinned. "And he's going to be my ticket for revenge." Steel laughed with a sinister way. "Now help me out of this collar. I want to go see some old friends."

"Oh Balto stop it." Jenna giggled and let her head lay against her mate's shoulder tenderly. Both of them walked down a long dark alley intermitted by bright yellow gaps from the street.

"Come on Jenna, you know it's funny." Balto pressed. "Especially when you slipped in the mud."

Jenna raised her head off Balto's shoulder and looked scornfully at her mate. "Balto, that was not funny. I had mud everywhere." She said matter-of-factly. "Rosy was so mad at me for getting all dirty." Jenna giggled at the memory. "But you are right, it was pretty funny." She giggled more and Balto giggled, both of them laughing like little children at a dirty thought.

For the first time in what seemed forever, Jenna no longer thought about her troublesome child, Kodi; just as Balto had hoped the evening would go. Jenna had been so strung out and out of her mind about Kodi she had begun to shed and go into mood swings so sudden that nothing compared to it. Eventually Dixie sent Star to see Balto about getting Jenna's problem fixed.

So Balto, in all his wisdom, got the bright idea to take Jenna on a first date again. The evening started a little rough as Jenna didn't want to go, and when she finally did she had no interest in playing catch by starlight. But after Balto got Jenna up to the hot pools she mellowed right out and began to laugh and reminisce about the good times.

"Yes," Balto smiled and exhaled a soft breath. "Our first date was pretty wild."

Jenna once again laid her head on Balto's shoulder in a tender way. They walked along through a golden beam and into the shadows. "This night is ending just like the first one." Her voice held a certain sadness.

"Why's that?"

Jenna lifted her head and looked at her mate. "Because I didn't want that night to end either."

Balto smirked and Jenna once again laid her head down onto her mate's shoulder as they continued slowly on.

Suddenly an evil deep gutted laughter broke from all around them. It seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. Balto and Jenna both looked frightfully around them for the source of the laugh. It began to sound like the sound was bouncing from one shadow to another, from the snow at their feet, to the edges of the roof tops above, from far down in front of them at the end of the street, to right behind them.

"Balto and Jenna." The voice finally said with a relaxed demeanor from in front of them. "It's been a while."

"Who are you?" Balto asked, swiftly stepping in front of Jenna taking up a threatening stance. "Where are you?" He ordered in a calm and purposeful way.

Silence reined, except for a brisk wind which scrapped across the buildings above them.

Then the movement came and it caught Balto's attention immediately. The figure came from out of the shadows just a dozen feet in front of Balto and Jenna, a large and lanky dog stepped into the starlight of the street, his black and white fur appearing clear as day to Balto and Jenna, sending memories flying to the front of their skulls.

"Steel." Balto growled. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end and he dropped into a fighting stance.

Jenna pushed close to Balto's side; even though she didn't fear Steel in the least, she did fear that Balto, but more likely Steel, would try something and she'd have to do something.

"What do you want Steel?" Jenna asked.

Steel smiled and took a graceful step forward. "Nothing … really."

"Then crawl back in the hole you came from!" Balto ordered through his teeth.

Steel took a step back, but more in play rather than actual fear. "Anger, anger." Laughed Steel.

Balto growled even harder. Jenna pushed her shoulder into his side, signaling Balto to stop. "Steel, we don't want any trouble so-"

"-Neither do I." Steel shot back with a growl. "I never wanted any trouble. I just want to apologize for the way I behaved in the past. I was never really fair to you Balto. I really only judged you on your heritage, rather then who you really are."

Balto didn't believe a word of the trash that spilled out of Steel's mouth. It was clearly a lie, just some nice words with no meaning behind them. "Steel, you're nothing but a liar, and a terrible one at that."

"Maybe so." Steel said turning away. "I never really forgave you Balto. You stole my fame, and you stole my Jenna." He cocked an ear towards Jenna and winked.

"I'm not yours Steel." Jenna growled at the factious wink . "And I never was."

"Your right Jenna. Besides, I don't really want you to love me anymore. I've gotten over that."

Balto and Jenna were silent.

"I just wanted you two to know that I'm not here for good, so don't worry about seeing me around." Steel said uncaringly. "My new masters running in the Alaska 500, and once that's over, I'll go, and possible never return."

"Good." Balto growled. "Now why don't you get back to your team and stay there until you leave Nome for good."

"Balto, Balto, Balto, you have so much anger for me." Steel grinned devilishly. "But I suppose your right, I should be getting back." Steel turned down the street and walked several drunken steps before stopping and peeking over his shoulder. "Oh, by the way, I met your son the other day out on the trail."

Jenna's eye's opened in shock.

"I believe the name was Kodi," Steel continued. "He's a very nice young dog. Strong to, he has his fathers figure, and his mothers good looks." Steel winked again and walked a few slow steps away. "I think I might get to know him better-"

"No you won't!" Balto yelled and took a threatening step forward before Jenna cut him off by jumping in front of him. She gave Balto a threatening look. For a moment they locked eyes, an intense conversation going between them in an instant. When they looked back up towards Steel he was already long down the street quietly walking away.

"I'll be talking to two very soon I'm sure." Steel said just before going around the edge of a building. "Very soon." He said last, the words echoing around the alley.

Balto growled and lashed his left paw out against nothing. "I hate him so much." Balto looked at Jenna as thought he was going to continue ranting, but Jenna cut him off.

"We need to talk to Kodi." She said. "We need to tell him about Steel, and tell him to stay away from him."

"But Kodi won't be back from running the mail until tomorrow." Balto shot back.

"Then we'll just have to wait for him when he arrives back."

And with that Jenna and Balto both continued down the street with a new worry on their minds and their evening ruined.


	13. Bad Things

**Chapter 13**

The following day the mail team arrived back with little more demonstration for their return than a gust of wind trailing behind them as they pulled to a stop in front of the post office. Mr. Simpson went about his rounds with his dogs, then took the mail into the post office.

On cue Sarge appeared seemingly from nowhere and walked towards the team. "Dusty." He grinned and stepped to her side. They nuzzled briefly, and then smiled a big toothy grin to each other, the kind of smile that two head-over-heal love birds give.

"Hey Sarge." Dusty said full of ditsy affection. "How are you this afternoon?"

"Oh, I'm fine." Sarge winked. "And how about you? Was it a hard go today?"

Dusty giggled. "I'm okay, a little tired from the run, but fine."

Kirby and Ralph both stood side by side like brothers joined at the hip looking on at Sarge with the open mouth and wide eye intent of a pup about to get some juicy table scraps. "So Sarge," Kirby spoke up. "Do you have anything interesting planned tonight?"

Sarge smiled at Kirby with a certain secretiveness. He then looked down at Dusty who stood pressed to his side; every part of her body pressed against his, ending with her head resting on the notch in his shoulder. "I was thinking me and Dusty might go do something on our own this evening." He glanced his eyes off Kodi's sulking form as he looked back and Kirby. "So I think you boy's might have to entertain yourselves on this night."

Kirby and Ralph both grinned a reserved grin and locked eyes for a brief moment; Kirby winked at Ralph and made a clicking sound with his cheek. "Somebody's going to have some fun." He whispered directly into Ralph's twisted ear.

Kodi felt sick as he looked at Dusty leaning whole-heartedly into Sarge's shoulder. Sarge retained a huge satisfied grin as he looked straight into Kodi with a superior 'I'm the winner and you're nothing' type glare. Nothing would have satisfied Kodi more than to pummel Sarge, to stand over his pain ridden form with that same look. Yet Kodi looked away from them all and locked his sight on a meaningless boot print in the snow to get away from such a dark thought. _At least the prints not doing anything to upset me, _Kodi thought helplessly.

Just then Mr. Simpson returned from inside the post office with his hood down. The door shuttered behind him and the bell above the door echoed inside the building as he glided down the steps. "Come on, we got to go get our new gear." He said with a rosy-cheeked smile before noticing Sarge standing by Dusty. Mr. Simpson turned with a frown and walked towards Sarge with a brisk and angry pace. "Come on, get!"

"I'll catch you later Dusty." Sarge said before bolting away from Mr. Simpson's boot which sprayed snow high into the air after him. Sarge turned one more time to wink at Dusty before vanishing around the corner of the post office. Dusty sighed with a deep tone of love in her voice as she turned to look at Kodi, then away.

Mr. Simpson returned to the rear of the sled and jumped on. "HIKE!"

The team stood and leaned into the leather harness' which squeaked and moaned as the many stitches stretched out around the force of their paws and the broad muscles of their chests. The sled started with a terrible shutter; the force of the dogs making the entire sled, every nail, lashing, and board jump and shake.

They moved through the town slow and careful, reaching the carpenters buildings without a single breath uttered in exhaustion. Mr. Simpson left the sled and bolted through the door with a childlike energy, leaving the dogs standing among the shadows of the buildings in the growing cold.

Kirby and Ralph both turned post-haste to Dusty. "So where's he taking you tonight?" Kirby asked with blunt shrewdness.

"Is he taking you to the boiler room?" Ralph said.

Dusty, Ralph, Kip, and Fell, turned and eyed Ralph down with a coarse malevolence. "What did I say?" Ralph threw helplessly back at their scorning faces. "What?"

"No." Dusty said in a clear voice, outwardly un-offended by Ralph's comments. "I wouldn't let him take me to such a place as the Boiler room, to many young dogs get pregnant there and I don't intend to be one of them … He's taking me to the ice falls."

Kip, Fell, Kirby, and Ralph all oozed an amazed gasp. "What a first-rate gentlemen to accompany you to such a luxurious locality." Fell said.

"Oh, thanks Fell." Dusty smiled.

"Tell me though." Fell continued. "Will he be providing victuals?"

"Yes, I believe he will be brining food." Dusty translated for Kirby and Ralph who whispered into each others ears and looked at Fell with dumbfounded eyes searching for an answer.

"What will he be brining?" Ralph asked. His eyes began to creep towards the sky as he began to elaborate on the different kinds of meat. "Oh, maybe some moose intestines or some pig fat trimmings. Maybe some caribou leg bones…" Ralph trailed off with dreams of meat dancing in his head.

"No I don't believe that he'll be brining any of those. I think he's going to bring some moose steaks."

"OOOHHHH!" Ralph groaned in pure ecstasy. "There's nothing better." A line of drool ran out of his mouth and down his chin. His eyes rolled up to the sky, and his mind went somewhere very nice.

"Hey Kodi." Came a friendly and suave voice from nearby. Everyone turned and watched a large black and white malamute walking casually towards the team from down the street, giving them all a belittling once-over like a disgruntled parent at his son's choice of friends. The strangers face lightened up when he saw Kodi looking on and he even cracked his right lip in the form of a smile. "Kodi." He repeated again. "Funny seeing you around here."

"Hi Steel." Kodi replied feeling belittled. "What are you doing?"

"Oh nothing much. Me and some friends were just out stretching my legs when I saw you." Steel jerked his head over his left shoulder where two dogs stood in an alley watching them at a distance. "So I thought I'd come and see if you managed to get over the little problem you've been having with your team."

Kodi felt the eyes of all his teammates come over him in the exact same moment. "What problem." Kodi forced an obvious laugh. "I don't have a problem." Once again he could feel the eyes.

"Oh come on Kodi. Remember what you told me yesterday, about how you deserve the lead, how you've been robbed of your rightful place, and how your team is nothing but second rate."

"I never said that." Kodi laughed again, not knowing if he had actually said anything of the sorts. The eyes burned into him and he wanted to slink away and die.

"Well do you remember what I told you to do in order to take back your place at the lead?" Steel grinned.

"Kind of, yeah" Kodi lowered his head, but felt if he did he would be lying down soon.

"So why haven't you done it yet?" Steel snapped, frightening Kirby and Ralph into stepping as far away from Steel as their harnesses would let them. "Just stand up and tell them that you, Kodi, are going to lead from now on."

"Kodi, tell him to go away." Kirby said cringing, yet still talking like a leader.

"Yeah." Ralph threw in.

Steel turned towards Kirby and Ralph. "And I'll tell you to jump in a river if you speak to me again!… Only a true leader can speak to me." He looked straight into Kodi. "If you are one?"

Kodi could feel something brewing inside him. It was a strange feeling, something between power and anger and it felt good; it felt like something heavy Kodi could throw around in any way he pleased, whenever he pleased, injuring whoever he please. It was a secret power that burned deep, and it felt like it was about to come up like vomit. But yet it felt wrong to do it against his friends.

"Come on Kodi he's your friend, tell him to go away." Kirby pleaded now.

Steel looked at Kodi. "It's your choice Kodi. I'll go away if you want me to – but only if you want me to."

For a long while all of them stood still, waiting on Kodi to make a choice. In his face it looked like one of the hardest choices Kodi ever had to make; his eyes flashed from Kirby and Ralph to Steel and back. A sense of deep anguish filled the air and centered completely on Kodi.

"KODI!" Jenna shouted running down the street towards him.

"STEEL!" Balto growled just behind her.

Both Balto and Jenna ran up the street towards the team. Jenna bolted to Kodi's side and stood guard between him and Steel. Balto ran right up to Steel who backed away from the team with little or no sign of being scared. His two comrades ran down the street to his side and they all stood defiant against Balto.

"Get out of here Steel!" Balto barked right into his face, a few dribbles of saliva landing on Steels chest.

Steel looked down at his chest with a sneer and wiped the dribble away with his right paw. "Balto." He said in a voice of respectful contempt. "Glad to see you again." Steel glanced over Balto's shoulder at Jenna and winked. "Jenna."

"Shut it Steel!" Balto snapped. "You have no reason to speak to me, Jenna, my son, or his friends – SO GET OUT OF HERE!"

"Oh I quite disagree. I think Kodi has a choice to speak to whoever he wishes." Steel fired back calmly.

"He doesn't need to talk to you." Balto growled slow, deep and full of rage. "Now why don't you go back to the hole you came from and leave my family alone?"

Steel began to turn casually, his friends followed suit. "I suppose I will since you ruined my fun, but just remember that Kodi has the right of an adult dog like you or me. Are you just going to keep treating him like a puppy for the rest of his life?" Steel crossed his gaze over Kodi. "And you think about that Kodi, because I'm sure you're tired of being treated like a pup, stepped on by everyone and being crushed because nobody takes a great leader like you serious."

"Quiet Steel! He is a great leader!" Balto barked. "Kodi's already a better leader than you ever were."

"Yes, I'll admit he is a good leader. I can see it in him. But you don't. Admit it. You see him as just a pup, unable to make his own decisions, his own choices. You see him as nothing more than a problem to deal with. Admit it!" Steel boomed, and only when the last trace of his voice faded from the air did Balto speak.

"Leave Steel." Balto growled low and silent.

Ignoring Balto Steel continued on, now yelling to everyone. "All of you admit it. You don't see the true power that Kodi has as a leader, his skill and his cunning. All of you admit it. You're nothing but stains compared to Kodi's cleanliness."

Everyone remained silent, only a wisp of blowing snow answered in a silent yes.

"Good enough as a confession to me." Steel grinned and began to trail away a little faster. He stopped and looked at Jenna. "Jenna." He bowed his head very gentleman like, and then continued on with his friends into a side street.

. Jenna immediately looked to her son with an uptight look. "Are you okay?"

"Yes!" Kodi growled angrily. "And I didn't need your help. I had everything under control."

"Kodi, calm down." Balto protested stepping to Jenna's side.

"No dad." Kodi snapped. "I don't need you help." He looked at his team. "And I don't need any of your help. I'm just fine … and he is right that you all treat me like I'm just a pup; especially you two." Kodi twisted his nose back to his parents. "You two have never let me try life without being there to point me in the right direction. So please just leave me alone. I don't need any of you." Kodi fell silent and stared at the snow.

"Kodi." Jenna tried to sooth. "I-"

"-What? Wanted to embarrass me in front of everybody I know. Well congratulations, you did it."

"No… Kodi please we just need to talk about Steel." Jenna pleaded deeper.

"Let me guess, you told him all those little cute and embarrassing things I did as a pup, right?" Kodi said flatly.

"No Kodi would you just listen to me-"

"-No, now please just go away. I don't want to talk to you right now." Kodi said on the verge of bursting into a tearful fit of anger.

Balto nudged Jenna's side with his shoulder lightly. "Why don't we get out of here for right now? I don't think Kodi really wants to hear qhat we have to tell him."

"But but…" Jenna protested looking into Balto's calm and confident face, but the reasoning behind it caught her, and she turned down the street towards the back of the team.

Balto took Jenna's place and lowered his head down to Kodi's ear and spoke normally. "We need to talk later Kodi. So why don't you come over to your mothers house tonight. We'll be waiting." Balto turned without another word, or the chance for another word, and followed after Jenna.

For a while Kodi stared at the snow, and at last when he thought that all the eyes were off him he raised his head again. Only when he did all his friends resumed their curious, resentful, and far away glaring. _Today was just not a good day to get up,_ Kodi thought lowering his head, _not a good day at all._


	14. In The Dark Of The Night

**Hello everyone, no I'm not dead. Yes it's been a while since I put a chapter up for this story. I hope to finish this one someday soon, but it's a long fic, and will most likely be my last Balto one. Yes, I'm tired of writing about Balto and the others. They're characters who've become exhausted in my mind and life. I hope my work will inspire other writers to work out stories they can be proud of. All my old fanfic heroes from when I was fifteen and first started writing them have all passed on and gone away, and so I hope to fade from the Balto scene much as they did –and much as Balto did from the screen - without so much as a goodbye. Sorry to all those who will be upset. **

**Chapter 14 **

"Jenna, please try and calm down." Balto pleaded from the back of Jenna's shed where he lay unobtrusively on a beat-up old mattress. Slowly Balto's eye's drifted from the left to the right across the shed, watching Jenna gradually pace across the room.

Outside there came an indistinct sound from somewhere in the distance and Jenna flashed to the door and peeked through the crack she had left in it. Realizing nothing was out there; she turned and resumed her manic pacing.

"I am calm." Jenna protested as she looked over at Balto.

Balto looked back at her with an inquisitive tilt to his ears.

Jenna ignored her mates look with a shake of her head and continued her quiet, meditative, walking. She walked from one side of the shed to the other; her head hung low and her eyes hollow with thought. When she reached the far side of the room she looked up at the wall, as if she had never seen it before, and turning on her heels, she resumed walking.

Suddenly she turned her eyes on Balto. "But you should be the one up here pacing. I expect you to do most of the talking you know?"

"I know." Balto replied. "I have what I need to say right up here." Balto raised his right paw and touched his head just below his right ear. "I just don't see what you're so worked up about? This is going to go fine. We tell him that the Steel from the story he heard when he was a pup, was the Steel we saw in town today." Balto paused and watched his words work on Jenna. But it didn't seem to have any effect. "Then we tell Kodi not to talk to Steel or any of Steel's friends again. It's as simple as that" Balto finished.

"I hope he'll listen." Jenna said in a hushed tone. She closed her eyes and truly wished Kodi would listen and do what they would say.

* * *

From the moment Kodi stepped into the boiler-room and took up his place in front of the furnace he could feel the eyes of his teammates upon him. He could feel their icy glares searing into his flesh worse than any driving wind.

Occasionally Kodi would turn around and see who was looking at him now; and each time he did he would see that every one of his teammates was looking at him in the same way. They looked at him through squinted eyes, bitter dark orbs full of resentment, ready to strike and kill him the moment he let them. Kodi swore he could hear the growls in their throats and their teeth clacking together – ready to tear into his esophagus. It didn't take Kodi more than ten minutes to realize he wasn't wanted here, and that he should leave and go to his parents, which he didn't look forward to either.

As nonchalantly as a convict walking out the front door of a prison, Kodi yawned and stretched his entire body until he stood. Then turning under barrage of wild glares, Kodi walked across the room to the door and grabbed the rope hung on the door and pulled. The door broke free of the ice and swung inwards, bringing with it a cloud of steam which quietly masked his escape as he stepped into the freezing night and pulled the door shut.

For a moment Kodi stood and let his eyes adjust to the darkness. At least he knew they weren't looking at him in that way anymore. He was for the moment free of that.

Kodi was about to step away when he heard his friends moving around inside the room. He could hear somebody walking across the floorboards to the door. Kodi held his breath. Whoever it was stood for a moment listening. "I think he's gone." Kirby stated as he turned away from the door and walked back towards the center of the room, his nails clacking on the hardwood as he went.

As soon as he knew Kirby was out of hearing range Kodi exhaled and quickly turned and walked through the soft snow up the slope next to the door. Up around the corner of the building was a little window permanently tilted open on two rusty hinges. A soft glowing light escaped and made the snow at the base of the window glow in a pleasing way.

Slowly Kodi edged his way up to the window, almost tiptoeing, and peeked in as the warm air rushed out into the night. Kirby, Ralph, Kip, Fell, and Dusty all lay in a little social circle in front of the boiler. Kodi listened.

"I'm really starting to wonder about Kodi." Kirby voiced in a worried tone. "I mean look what happened today when that new dog showed up. And what did he mean by telling Kodi to take the team?"

Fell voiced a response. "I assume he sought Kodi to take his place as leader, even though he isn't worthy of it in the least."

"Yeah I agree, I think he wanted Kodi to take the lead of the team." Dusty said more for translation than to voice her own agreement.

A supportive murmur went through the group. Then Kirby's eyes shot to Dusty. "Hey Dusty, I thought you had a date with Sarge tonight. What are you doing here?"

Dusty sighed. "He should be along any minute."

"Oh … yeah." Kirby's eyes opened and he shook his head. "So you think it will be a late night?" Kirby shot at her while clicking his tongue against his cheek and winking his left eye.

Dusty growled. "Does it look like I'm going to do that? Besides, we're here to talk about Kodi, not about Sarge."

Kirby rolled his eyes and smiled as if he already had his answer and didn't need to hear anymore.

"So now back to Kodi, I think one of us needs to talk to him. We need to know what's on his mind" Dusty said. "I'm out for obvious reasons, but one of us needs to do it. So who wants to?"

Nobody responded, but waited and looked away at odd angles to each other, as if Dusty would say more, or perhaps just drop the whole thing. She sighed and looked at Kirby. "Kirby?"

"What?" Kirby said with shock, as if he hadn't been paying attention.

Dusty growled and bore her eyes into him. "Would you go do it?"

Kirby growled and rounded his shoulder in his sockets. His face fell into a grimace which stated how he felt. "I don't want to go do it. I have many good reasons why I don't want to go either."

"And they would be?" Fell asked.

Kirby looked into the top of his head as he began to list them off, counting them on his front toes as he did. "It's night. It's cold. I don't know where he went. I'm sore and tired, and …"

Dusty growled and rose quickly to her feet in a threatening way. "Would you just do it Kirby?"

"Fine." Kirby pushed himself up into a sitting position. He sneered and glared at Dusty "But if I get sick because of this little run in the cold night, you're going to owe me." Kirby turned to the door, and then turned back to Dusty. "Where did he go anyways?"

"If you were paying attention earlier today, he probably went to his mothers." Dusty said with an exasperated sigh.

Kirby grumbled as he grabbed the rope on the inside of the door and pulled. The door broke free of the ice and filled the room with steam.

Meanwhile Kodi turned away from the window and ran off into the night to get to his parents before Kirby.

* * *

"Finally." Jenna let her breath go in relief as she spotted her son through the crack in the door. She watched him come around a far building and make his way towards the shed in a quiet meditative stroll. Jenna turned her head and looked at Balto who still sat on the mattress in the back. "He's coming."

Balto pulled himself to his feet and stepped forwards to the door. He leaned his shoulder into the door and pushed. The door opened roughly as it slid across the snow.

Kodi looked up from his apologetic step and looked at his parents standing in the door of the shed. Lowering his eyes and head below his shoulders he walked on them into the darkness of the shed. Kodi turned around and sat as Balto pulled the door shut.

An apprehensive feeling began to brew in Kodi. It was probably from all the times he had seen his parents give his brothers and sister's talking-to's when they were pups. Kodi had been good and never had a true talk, but the way his parents looked as they sat down in front of him told Kodi he was about to get one of those old fashioned talking-to's.

"Kodi." Jenna started, but cut short as she looked at Balto to continue.

"Kodi, first off we want you to know we're not mad at you, so don't think you're in trouble in any way." Balto started. "We just want to warn you about that dog you were talking to today, Steel."

Kodi's ears and curiosity perked up at the mention of Steel's name. "What about Steel?"

Balto looked sidelong at Jenna, as if seeking the courage in her face to continue. "Well, before your mother and me met there was another dog who sought Jenna's affection, Steel. At the time Steel was a very small minded dog – and probably still is. He was mean to his friends, his teammates, and he especially picked on me because of my wolf heritage. But this was because I was also in love with your mother as well." Balto said as if confessing his own terrible sins. "Well one day Rosy became very sick with something that couldn't be cured without a medicine that was far away. So it was decided that every dog in Nome would race to see who would be on the team. I won," Balto smirked. "Even after the other dogs cheated and sent me off the track. But Steel wouldn't have me on his team, so he attacked me in front of the humans, and the humans wouldn't trust me because of my half-wolf features." Balto paused to let this sink in. "Steel then took the team and got the medicine. On the way back he got lost. He couldn't find his way through a horrible storm; so I went after the team, your mother helped." Balto looked sidelong at Jenna as he said it.

Kodi sighed in a bored tone. "I know, you got the antitoxin and made it back to Nome to become the town hero." Kodi paused and looked at both his parents in turn, then continued warily. "So are you telling me the Steel from the story is the same one I met today?"

"Yes." Balto said simply. "And we thought he was long gone, but now he's back and he's going to be in the same race as you and -"

"-And we don't want you to talk to him anymore." Jenna cut in. "Steel wants to get even with your father and I, and he'll do that through you if he has to. We just don't want you to get hurt because of something that happened before you were born.

Kodi's head fell a little. "I see." He said indifferently.

Balto stepped forwards next to his son and smiled as Kodi looked up. "We're just trying to protect you and your friends from him is all. Don't think we're trying to limit your adulthood by telling you this. We're just helping."

Kodi looked up at his father's face and smiled softly. Jenna stepped closer and nuzzled her son in a hearty way. Kodi nuzzled her back less vigorously. "I know you do." Kodi smiled. "I know."

Outside, just out of audible range, something metal banged against something else.

* * *

The light came down at an angle in front of Kirby's paws and nose which were both unbelievable cold. Kirby stood at the far end of a back alley across the street from the shed where Kodi had gone. Shadows from the edge of a nearby roof covered his entire body, and a garbage can half filled with broken bottles stood between him and the street hiding him from view when Kodi would return.

"Come on." Kirby supplicated aloud as he readjusted his freezing feet under his body. "It's so cold out here."

More time passed and Kirby grew much colder and very tired of looking at the unpainted shed across the street. He also grew impatient for Kodi's return.

It was the cold that got Kirby more than anything. Never in Kirby's memory had he ever been as cold as he was sitting in the dark waiting for his friend. Even in a blizzard with the temperature at fifty below while running into the wind he was never as cold as now.

As more time passed Kirby's humble appeal for Kodi to return began to turn inflamed. "Where are you Kodi?" Kirby demanded looking at the shed again. "I'm only going to wait another minute, then that's it, I'm gone." Kirby threatened to no one.

Then it hit him, a sudden dark and foreboding feeling he wasn't alone, that someone was watching him, threatening him, sneaking up on him. Kirby began to turn his head to look back down the alley when a set of front paws caught him sharply in the side of the head, throwing him headfirst into the side of the trashcan which banged loudly and tilted sideways up on its rim and back down. Blackness engulfed Kirby instantly and the dog who knocked him out smiled. "Rough him up." He said coldly to the two dogs behind him.

* * *

Balto pushed the door open and watched his son stroll casually past him into the night with his head hung low, but nevertheless carrying himself in an upbeat way. Balto smirked as Kodi walked into the night before him. Jenna followed Kodi out and stopped next to Balto, letting her head fall into his shoulder in a tender way.

"I think he'll be fine." Balto whispered into Jenna's ear.

"It will take time for all the wounds to heal with the team. I just hope Steel doesn't try something between then." Jenna responded. She turned and walked back into the shed. "Why don't you spend the night here Balto? It's got to be cold out on that boat. Besides, it's cold in here by myself."

Balto watched her go, then bit the rope on the door and pulled it shut as he followed her in.

Kodi began to walk towards the alley he had come down earlier when he noticed somebody standing just behind the corner watching him come with one eye in view. Kodi's first instinct told him to choose another way to get home, and he turned to do so when the form stepped forwards from the shadow.

"Kodi." Steel said in a voice barely above a whisper.

Kodi looked at Steel with his eyebrows knitted together. "Hi Steel." He said indifferently.

Steel lowered his head. "Have a little chat with your parents?" Steel asked meekly.

"Yeah Steel, and I'm tired, so I'm going to go home." Kodi turned and strolled towards the entrance of the next alley.

Steel quickly jog-stepped and cut in front of Kodi before he could make it into the mouth of the alley. "You're going to back to all those other dogs who hate your guts?" He asked in disbelief.

Kodi gave Steel a sharpened sidelong glance. "They don't hate my guts, they care about me."

"Perhaps." Steel replied indifferently. "Or perhaps you only think it's caring. You thing they want to talk to you, but really they just want to tell you that you can't lead and need to accept your place on the team."

Kodi lowered his brow. "How do you know?"

Steel shrugged his shoulder. "Because I went over there and saw them sitting in their little circle talking about you. They were saying they didn't think you were fit to be a leader any more."

Kodi felt a growl rising in his throat. "My parents told me about you Steel."

Steel bowed his head to the left in an uncaring motion, as if saying, 'so?' "I'm sure they painted me in a terrible picture no doubt. After all I did loose Jenna to Balto and felt terribly bitter about it back then. And I'm sure they have a personal vendetta against me for it."

"They told me about how you got lost, about how you fought my father when he tried to help you, about how you lied to the town and said my father was trying to be a glory hound." Kodi fired off, now beginning to hear the anger coming through in his voice.

"Yes, and it's all true." Steel replied with a hurt look.

Kodi felt honestly shocked and continued. "So then why should I trust you? You're an enemy of my family."

Steel looked Kodi in the eye with a very serious face. "There's no reason other than your natural instincts as a leader to believe me."

Kodi stared coldly and deeply into Steels eyes, trying to see the evil in him. But for some reason Kodi couldn't sense it, if it even existed. All Kodi could sense was a strange caring sensation coming from Steel – much as he remembered from being a pup and looking upon his father.

"Could I walk with you back to the boiler room Kodi?" Steel said raising his right paw and pointing down the alley.

Kodi thought about it; his parents warning to stay away from Steel still burned fresh in his head. But then again he was an adult, and able to talk to who he wanted as long as it didn't get him, or someone he knew, hurt. "I guess." He shrugged after a moment and walked forwards.

Together they walked shoulder to shoulder down to the far end of the dark alley. Neither of them exchanged a word. The wind blew over the rooftops above them, covering their fur with a light sprinkling of snow as they went. Already the drifting snow which suffocated the town at night began to form on the leeward sides of the all the buildings.

As they reached the end of the alley and turned down the street towards the boiler room Steel spoke up. "I assume your father told you his side of the story?"

Kodi looked questioningly at Steel. "His side of the story?"

Steel shook his head. "Oh yeah. Every story has two sides, just like a tree." Steel smiled at Kodi like a proud father. "Did he tell you how he was nothing more than a common thief, and that when he came to help the team he tried to steal the antitoxin?"

Kodi shook his head no.

"He didn't even ask for it. He showed up and said he would take the team, my team, and get them back on track. He said he was going to take the team back to Nome because the children were sick and needed the medicine now. Then when I told him I had everything under control, and that I would do it, he said he'd just take the antitoxin then. How did he expect to carry the antitoxin do you suppose?"

"I don't know?" Kodi shook his head. "Drag it I guess?"

Steel continued. "He then forced me to attack him by trying to take the antitoxin off the sled. I couldn't let him take it off the sled; it's fragile. I knew he'd break it or it would freeze while trying to carry it over those rough trails. So I fought him, and just when he realizes he's going to win, do you know what he does?"

"No. He didn't tell me about this. I did hear that he fought you, but I never heard this." Kodi replied in an unconvinced tone.

Steel stopped in his tracks and let his head hang between his shoulders as if about to cry. "He tried to kill me Kodi. He dropped me over the side of a cliff. It was only luck I survived the fall, and without even getting an injury." Steel raised his head and looked at Kodi. "You can imagine how angry and irrational I was afterwards. Here I was, had everything under control, and this wolf dog shows up, tries to steal the antitoxin and tries to kill me."

Kodi's eyes narrowed. "That doesn't sound like my father. He wouldn't do something like that. My dad doesn't steal and he wouldn't try to kill you. He's as gentle as a …"

"-Wolf." Steel interjected.

Kodi lowered his brow, mostly for the fact he knew some wolf blood ran in his veins.

Steel continued. "Oh it's well known by most dogs that your father was a cheater and a liar. True he got the recognition for saving the children of Nome; but at what cost?"

Kodi looked cross at Steel. "What do you mean?"

"Nothing much." Steel said looking away from Kodi at a nearby building. He knew Kodi was beginning to slip under his paw again. He grinned at Kodi's gullibility.

They were within sight of the boiler room now. The little window towards the back where Kodi had listened to his friends talk gave off a pleasing yellow glow which said there was warmth and good company here. But Kodi knew there wasn't any for him, and his face showed it.

"Not ready to go home just yet?" Steel asked as he watched Kodi's face morph into a muted nature.

Kodi looked at Steel. "I don't know." He shook his head and looked out over the frozen sea to the south. Somewhere out there a red band of northern lights arched and flared wildly over the clouds, creating a gentle glow which reflected off the ice like blood.

"I wouldn't blame you for not wanting to go back there." Steel stated mildly. "Nothing worse than going home to have you friends and family distrust you at every turn you take and word you say."

Kodi shrugged, and didn't have an answer. But really he didn't want to answer. Somewhere deep within he remembered his parent's explicit warning to stay away from Steel and any of his friends. But on the other paw Steel had really hit the nail on the head for Kodi, exploding a new realm of thoughts into his mind. Kodi did feel as though he were being pushed around, that his leadership wasn't being acknowledged, and that his parents did treat him like nothing more than an ill-mannered pup. He was an adult, and therefore capable of making his own decisions in life. Right?

Steel stopped in front of the scratched up wood door the boiler room and faced Kodi with a smile. "So I was wondering if you'd like to come hang out with some of the guys from my team. We were planning on going around town and cruising a few old haunts."

Kodi shrugged and looked at the door. "I don't know. I have the mail run tomorrow and I should be getting my rest."

Steels eye's didn't move. "So? … I'm not saying we're going to go and spend all night out. Just a few memories and good jokes." He smiled.

Kodi began to shrug his shoulders and try to formulate some excuse when the door to the boiler room cracked, and then opened, spilling a golden glow out onto the snow before them. Sarge strolled through the steam cloud. Behind him Dusty closed the door and turned with mild shock sprayed across her face. Sarge's eye's lit up at the two forms in front of him. "Kodi." He smirked unrealistically.

Dusty instantly stepped to Sarge's side and laid her head tenderly on his shoulder and stared silently at Kodi and Steel.

"Hello Sarge." Kodi replied lowering his eyes and his shoulder until they felt as if they were part of the snow below his feet.

"Everyone was wondering where the troubled one was." Sarge gave a slight chuckle, which instantly caught Steel's icy glare.

Kodi cringed slightly at the harsh words. "I was… at my mothers."

"Ahh," Sarge smiled in a belittling way. "And did she clean your bottom afterwards?"

"Sarge," Dusty whispered in warning.

But it was too late as Steel suddenly stepped forwards and set his nose right up against Sarge's and stared into his eyes between the steam rising from their breath. "I should skin you and wear you." Steel growled.

"Hey!" Sarge growled in response. His voice quivered. "Why, why don't you … just take a step back?"

"And why don't you turn tail and run before I put a divit in your face." Steel seethed, unmoved and as cold as ice.

Sarge's eyes darted left and right. Then he took a step back and looked silently at Kodi, then back at Steel. "I would gladly fight you any other day, but we … we have something special planned… and I wouldn't want to ruin it." Sarge's voice shook as he finished and picked up the pace of moving around Steel. He then pushed Dusty quickly along into the night before him. Dusty looked back over her shoulder at Kodi and Steel as they disappeared into the darkness beyond the boiler room.

Steel sat back on his haunches and recomposed himself by rolling his shoulder and cracking his neck to the left. He then looked at Kodi. "So my offer still stands if you want to go."

Kodi would have been lying if he said he wasn't tempted to say yet and go. What Steel had done to Sarge felt like a huge weight had been lifted from Kodi's shoulders. And the look of fear and shock on both Dusty and Sarge's faces was like a dream come true. But the warning his parents had given him still weighed heavy in his mind.

"I don't think I will tonight Steel. But maybe on the day after tomorrow?" Kodi asked in an optimistic way.

Steel smiled and gave a slight chuckle. He knew he had him now. "Sure thing Kodi. I'll be sure to stop by and see you when you get done with the mail run." Steel turned and swished his tail as he strolled off. He then turned. "And remember Kodi, you're the leader, so act like it to these chumps." Steel turned and strolled up around the corner of the boiler room and away.

Kodi turned and pushed the door open. The ice around the edge cracked perceptibly and grinded a little on the wood floor as the door swung wide. Kodi stepped in and turned and pushed the door shut with a solid shove from his shoulder.

Behind him he could tell there were eyes staring at his back, glaring bitter eyes which questioned his motives and wanted to hurt him for it. There was nothing Kodi could do about them but try and pretend they weren't there.

Slowly Kodi turned and walked under the back shelf. There he curled around three times, ignoring everyone else in the room as he did so. He then lay down, closed his eyes, and quickly fell asleep.

* * *

"Did you see the look on his face?" Sarge said as he slowed to a walk. He breathed hard, even though he hadn't been running for very long or very far. "He would have eaten me alive if I didn't get out of there." He said looking at Dusty as she walked in front of him, turned to face him, and sat.

"I saw." Dusty replied solemnly.

"I think this is just getting to serious Dusty. I mean, I want to help you out, but I don't want to get my butt handed to me by that … that, brute." Sarge said with a shiver running up his spine. He looked at Dusty to reply.

Dusty gazed blankly at a point in front of her paws. Her eyes appeared to be hollow and without emotion. The rest of her face spread slowly away with the same blankness.

"Dusty?" Sarge asked as he pushed his head up in front of her vision.

Dusty blinked what she had been thinking away from her mind and looked at Sarge while flattening her ears. She looked ruefully at Sarge. "I don't want you to get hurt. I just wanted Kodi to get jealous, but it only seems to be sending him further away."

Sarge's ears flattened as if a heavy weight had been set upon him. But then his eyes seared into Dusty. "Okay Dusty. But if I continue this charade of being your boyfriend, you're going to owe me one. Got it?"

"Got it." Dusty replied sternly, and meant it as she looked off to the right at nothing and thought.

"Okay." Sarge said to fill the void of the conversation. He let his eyes drift back down the alley they had just come down. Something in Sarge's mind told him eyes were upon him, searing acrimoniously into his flesh, and plotting to execute him in one foul swoop. But Sarge shrugged and shook his fur and let this idea fall away as nothing more than a bit of paranoia.

Dusty's face looked deep in thought, her eyes searing into nothing in particular. She then stood and turned and began to walk down the street. "Come with me Sarge. I need to go talk to Balto and Jenna."

Sarge didn't hesitate to bolt to Dusty's side. No way was he going to be left out in the dark after being threatened by that dog. "So why are we going to see Balto and Jenna?" Sarge asked.

Dusty looked sidelong at Sarge. "Because they know something about that dog Kodi was with." They walked on, their breath combining and rising over there heads as they went.

* * *

"Shhhh!" Dusty growled as she stopped and held her breath. Her ears swiveled around on top of her head like miniature satellite dishes searching for something lost in the night.

Next to her Sarge listened in the same way. After a few moments he exhaled and turned to her. "Dusty I-"

"Quiet!" Dusty barked. She continued listening with the same keenness.

Sarge feigned listening, thinking Dusty's senses had caught a cat creeping around or something else which didn't matter. He rolled his eyes and was about to continue on despite what she said when he heard the groan.

It was a moan, deep and painful, struggling against something immovable and terribly oppressing. "Uhhhhooooowww."

Sarge's face twisted up in shock as he looked at Dusty.

But Dusty wasn't there to look at as she bolted forwards down the little street, then cut sharply into an alley, almost loosing her footing and sliding into the side of a building. Yet she managed to right herself and quickly ran out of sight.

Sarge quickly followed after her and turned down the alley with the same slick motion, trying to keep his traction. At his feet he noticed a long line in the snow where something had been drug along. Looking up at the end of the alley Sarge noticed a large piece of carpet with something lumpy under it. The lump moaned. "Ooouuuhhhhh."

As soon as Dusty reached the carpet she latched onto it with her teeth and pulled it back off the lump. Kirby, his right eye swollen shut, his nose leaking blood, and his fur ruffled, moaned and turned his head weakly. "Dusty?" He said shivering, his good eye rolling around in his head like a marble in a bowl. "I … I … thoug … thought i… it's them." He said shivering and trying to move his stiff and shivering paws to stand up. But they refused to work with him and could only kick feebly at the air.

Sarge stepped to Kirby's side and looked at him with a reserved and overly aghast face. "Who did this to you?" He blurted out without thinking. "Who hurt you?"

But Kirby couldn't answer as his good eye rolled up in his head and he stopped kicking. His paws fell to the snow.

Sarge's eye's widened in shock and fear. "Is he dead!!" He looked for Dusty to answer.

Dusty leaned down and put her ear near Kirby's muzzle.

"Is he dead! Tell me, is he dead!" Sarge asked again, shaking all over.

"No." Dusty said looking up at Sarge. "But we need to get him someplace warm soon or he will be."

Sarge looked up and down the alley. There were no lights visible, and he didn't know anywhere nearby they could go. He looked back at Dusty. "Where?"

Dusty thought about it, her eye's shifting around as she thought. "We'll take him to Jenna's. She's not far from here."

Sarge looked franticly at Kirby. "How do we carry him?"

Dusty's looked at the carpet she had pulled off Kirby. "The carpet! Spread that out Sarge, and I'll pull him onto it, and we'll drag him."

Sarge didn't hesitate as he bolted to the ruffled carpet and spread the corner out in the little alley with his teeth and his paws.

Dusty, meanwhile, stepped over Kirby and latched onto the scruff of his neck. Then digging her paws into the snow like hooks, she heaved on his body. Kirby slid a few inches in the snow. She then heaved again, and again Kirby moved.

After a few moments of tugging on his fur Dusty managed to get Kirby placed mostly on the carpet. She then stepped over him and stood next to Sarge at the far end of the carpet. She picked one corner up in her mouth and looked at Sarge. "Now come on and pull." She mumbled.

Sarge grabbed the other corner of the small carpet and quickly ran with Dusty down the alley towards Jenna's.

* * *

At first it sounded like something was sliding off the roof of a distant building. Yet no hollow thump followed to signal this was so. Instead the sound grew and grew until it became a dull roar working into the little room like an outside chill.

Balto lifted his head off Jenna's shoulder. "What is that?" He said looking at the door to the shed.

Jenna, half asleep, followed Balto's gaze to the door and curled her ears around to listen. "I'm not sure." She replied.

Balto stood and walked around Jenna to the door and waited, listening. Outside the sound grew closer and louder. Then it sounded as if a pair of paws was running along with the sound.

Behind him Jenna sat up and yawned. "Open the door, see what it is."

Balto pushed his shoulder into the door and it grinded open.

Two dogs ran quickly around a far corner, struggling with something like a blanket in their mouth. They pointed and made a beeline towards Balto standing in the door.

"What is it Balto?" Jenna said marveling at Balto's stare. Then she stood up and moved forwards to his side.

As Balto watched the two dogs come closer he recognized the fur color and body build of one dog. It was Dusty. Balto smirked. "What are you doing Dusty?" He said coyly. But his face fell as he saw the look of terror in Dusty's face and the exhaustion in the other. He knew she wasn't bringing good news.

Dusty slid to a stop in front of the shed, dropping her corner of the carpet, revealing the crumpled brown form on the back. "It's Kirby, he's been attacked." She looked at Jenna standing in the door now. "We need to get him inside." She finished with a gasp.

Balto and Jenna both stepped to the side as Dusty picked up the corner of the carpet and pulled on it. Sarge pulled as well, and soon they had the whole carpet, with Kirby on it, inside.

Jenna stepped in, quickly followed by Balto as he pulled the door shut against the cold.

"Who did it?" Jenna asked indirectly to everyone present.

"I don't know." Sarge replied as he struggled to breath. "I didn't …take time to see … if I could smell anything."

Jenna's eyes turned to Dusty. "What about you Dusty?"

"I didn't smell anything." Dusty replied. She didn't breath as hard as Sarge, but she was used to hard labor. "But Kirby might have." She said looking down at him.

"Did he say who did it?" Jenna asked bluntly.

"I don't know, he just sai…"

Meanwhile Balto's set his paw onto Kirby's shoulder where his fur was upset and bloody. Kirby felt cold to the touch, as if death's hand was firmly wrapped around him and still struggling to wretch Kirby from them. "We need to warm him up now." Balto stated firmly and forcefully between Dusty and Jenna's conversation. All eyes fell on Balto with a hushed grimness. Balto continued. "Because if we don't warm him up, he'll be dead before he can tell us anything."

Everybody looked at Balto and felt the words as if he had announced Kirby was dead. Quietly they all stepped around Kirby and began to lie down against him. He didn't shiver, which meant he had gone beyond the point of being able to shiver, which wasn't good. He felt cold to the touch, very cold, stone cold. But they all lay down with as much of their body against his as they could. Trying, almost beyond hope, to bring Kirby back.


	15. The Morning After

**Chapter 15 **

Nothing told Kodi it was morning besides the light from the boiler hatch had died down considerably. Inside the boiler the embers barely glowed, which made the rest of the room dim and dreary like a flooded basement. Outside the only window in the room it was still pitch black.

A slight cold had crept into the boiler room in the early morning, which made Kodi's breath visible when he opened his eyes and looked around in a groggy way. Yawning, and then rising slowly with a long stretch, Kodi stood. Finished with his yawn, Kodi looked nonchalantly across the room to where Ralph lay curled into a tight ball near the boiler.

At first it didn't enter Kodi's head something was out of place. It seemed as though it would be just another day. Then he realized quiet rudely, as he looked through sleepy eyes, Dusty and Kirby weren't in the room. _'Now where could they be?' _Kodi thought.

Slowly Kodi stepped out from under the back bench towards the front door. Stopping, he turned and looked back up to see if they might be up on top. But they weren't. Only Kip and Fell lay there, curled around each other and sleeping soundly.

Then Kodi realized where Kirby was. He had probably stepped out to relieve himself. Kodi rolled his eyes as he thought about this. Granted Kodi hadn't heard Kirby open the door and leave this morning, or come back the night before, but it was possible. It had surly happened many times before.

Then where was Dusty? The answer crossed through Kodi's mind before the question had completely finished forming. He realized Dusty might not have made it back to the boiler room at all last night. The thought of it suddenly stung Kodi in the chest as if he had been stabbed by something very small, but oh so deadly. It made Kodi feel hollow and invalid. He realized Dusty really did have a thing for this Sarge character. Not only that, but things might be getting serious with him.

There had been times when Kodi thought he could see cracks in their relationship. Kodi thought they looked just too cheery to be a real item together. It somehow seemed to all be a sham. But no more.

Another consideration then crossed through Kodi's mind, causing his eyes to go red and a growl to escape his throat; stirring Ralph from his slumber every so slightly. This thought was very bitter, and terribly contemptible. It was the insight saying Dusty might not have ever actually had a 'thing' for him. This meant Kirby and Ralph had never seen any 'signs,' saying Dusty had a 'thing' for him. But why would they do this? Kodi knew. It was because Kirby had wanted the lead place on the team. He had most likely got wind of the 'Alaska 500,' sometime before the whole event started, and he wanted to have the golden collar for himself.

Kodi's upper lip quivered as he looked across the boiler room at Ralph. They were all against him, whether from Kirby's deception, or from being somehow bribed into it, Kodi knew they all had a part in it. Even Kodi's parents had gotten caught up in the charade, which irritated Kodi even more.

Feeling terrible venom creeping through his veins, Kodi knew he needed to talk to someone. He needed to hear the words from somebody who understood. He needed to talk to Steel.

Nevertheless the warning Balto and Jenna had given Kodi still rang like a fire alarm in his head. He knew he shouldn't talk to Steel or any of his friends. But this was a warning his parents gave him, and they didn't know what was truly going on. They didn't see the whole picture like he did.

Kodi stepped to the door and pulled it open. The ice cracked resoundingly in the room. Quickly Kodi stepped into the darkness as the room filled with steam. Then Kodi closed the door, turned, and walked into the darkness.

* * *

"I'm sorry guys, I just can't remember anything." Kirby replied solemnly, shaking his head as he did so. His right eye was still swollen shut, and the blood below his nose had melted and congealed in his fur like a crooked moustache. His shoulder leaned down to the left in a tired way, and his endlessly ruffled fur and swollen muscles made him look dreadfully miserable. "Like I said I didn't smell them, hear them, or see them. All I remember is a smack, then waking up in the alley to cold to move." Kirby smirked. "I'm just glad Dusty heard me, or I'd still be out there as stiff as a board." Kirby gave a single chuckle as a response to his own joking. Nobody else laughed. They didn't think it as funny.

"But when I showed up you said you thought it was them again?" Dusty asked lowering her eyebrows in an inquisitive way. "Why would you say them unless you knew there was more than one?"

Kirby shrugged his shoulders, which made his face grimace slightly. "I wish I could say Dusty. I was just so cold I didn't know anything." Kirby smirked again. "When you showed up I thought I was dreaming."

"When I went and looked this morning I couldn't tell anything by the tracks." Balto threw in. "There were too many tracks and too many smells. It's impossible to pinpoint who did it unless you have some information Kirby."

"Think Kirby." Dusty said pointedly. "Is there anyone who might want to hurt you?"

Kirby's eye's rolled in his head and his face contorted as if thinking, or possibly holding back a spasm of pain. "I just don't know. Whoever it was snuck up on me and knocked me out, almost without me knowing they were there, so they must have been good. … But I get the …"

"Yes." Dusty urged.

"I get the feeling they didn't want to outright kill me." Kirby frowned in befuddlement and his eyes went blank as he thought about it. "I mean, if they wanted to kill me they could have just opened my throat when I was knocked out. But what they did is they beat me up and left me. They must have put the carpet over me to keep me warm … Why would they do that?" Kirby asked the small circler of friends in Jenna's shed. He didn't expect an answer as he continued. "All I really know is I'm really happy Dusty found me when she did." Kirby smiled at Dusty.

But Dusty didn't smile with Kirby. Somewhere inside she had a feeling this wasn't just some fluke event. She knew this had to be connected with Steel. She just couldn't figure out why.

Dusty also had the vague feeling this was her fault. She had been the one who told Kirby to go out in the night for Kodi after all. So in some way it was her fault. Was it wrong to think in such a way?

"I think we can all agree that what's important here is that you're alive and well Kirby, thanks to Dusty's keen ears." Balto said in praise as he bowed his head slightly towards Dusty. "We could have lost you forever Kirby."

"Yeah, that's true." Kirby replied. "I just wonder though … who's going to be leading the team now?"

Dusty's eyes widened as the pieces of the puzzle slipped together like cogs in a clock. Suddenly she knew exactly why Kirby had been attacked. It was so Kodi could be the lead dog again. Dusty wondered if Kodi knew about Kirby's attack, or if he had a paw in it. A Growl rose in Dusty's throat as she thought about this.

Everyone's eyes drew to Dusty in surprise to her growl.

Without a word Dusty turned and walked to the door of the shed. She leaned her shoulder fiercely into it and busted the seal of ice and stepped out into the snow and away. Behind her Balto, Jenna, Sarge, and Kirby watched her go with perplexities all about their faces.

* * *

Steel had expected Kodi to come and see him and talk to him, but this early? It was too easy. Kodi strolled casually out of a far alley and aimed towards Steel and his team where they all lie about. As soon as Kodi saw Steel he smiled and gave a slight burst of speed to his step.

"Hi Kodi." Steel called as he rose to his feet. He wondered idly if Kodi knew about what happened to Kirby. Or was Kirby still in the alley where Char and Hunter had left him? Steel guessed by Kodi's smile he didn't know anything had happened yet.

"Hey Steel." Kodi called as he stopped in front of Steel.

Steel yawned and rolled his shoulders as he casually looked at the sky. It had the very faintest tint of grey to it. "It's early Kodi. But I suppose the mail team gets up this early every day?"

"Yeah I know it's early. I needed to talk to you though." Kodi responded as he turned his head away embarrassed.

"Go on." Steel urged.

"I just wanted to say, I think you're right about my parents and friends, that they're keeping me back." Kodi said simply.

"I knew you'd see it to." Steel replied. "Great leaders always see eye to eye on these things."

"And I was hoping." Kodi continued meekly. "That you could give me some advice on … you know, being a great leader."

Steel smiled, he had Kodi hooked in as own son, or a fly in a web. "Okay," Steel said eagerly. "First off you need to be the toughest dog you can be. Don't take anything from anybody. Get into that mindset that you're the leader, and you can be or do anything. And if someone complains, it's up to you to remind them of their place."

"Okay," Kodi said with rapt attention. "How do I remind them?"

Steel smiled and bared his teeth in a growl. "By threatening them, and if that doesn't work, by fighting them. You also need to take out the main nuisance in your team, put them in their place. Got it?"

"Got it." Kodi replied with a new gruffness in his voice.

Steel grinned, '_He sure does.'_

_

* * *

  
_

Mr. Simpson had the old gear laid out in the snow behind the post office. He had all the patched together harnesses for each of his dogs set out in the snow in their respective places. The sled sat behind them all, the large bag of fish and winter gear making the sled bulge and lean to the left as if it would collapse any second.

Mr. Simpson sat to the edge on a chopping block against the building idly looking at the sled. He couldn't wait to see his knew sled. He had picked it out of several designs in a catalog the carpenter had on his work bench. The sled had a flat wooden bottom for easy going over soft snow, but also had rails with iron strips running down the length for ice. The new sled would also be wider, nearly a foot and a half wider. It was also three feet longer. Mr. Simpson could picture the hand rail in his mittens. It felt solid like the base of an oak tree.

But Mr. Simpson knew he wouldn't be able to enter the race if he didn't have his dogs, and at the rate it was going already, it would be race time before they got there. Already it was getting late, much later than usual, and none of them had appeared yet.

Mr. Simpson knew it wasn't a good idea to keep them in the boiler room, but he had no choice. His landlord didn't want dogs in the yard, and especially in the house. So Mr. Simpson agreed with the owner of the boiler room to keep his dogs in there. When they had been pups he simply went down there to get them. As they grew older they began to get the idea of what they would do every day, and Mr. Simpson didn't have to lock the door or even go down there. They just came up in the morning like clockwork. But not today which irritated Mr. Simpson to no end.

Slowly Mr. Simpson rose to his feet, ready to stroll down to the boiler room to see if the snow had blown a drift over the door. That's when he heard it. He heard the dogs snarling and fighting nearby.

* * *

Kodi strolled down the street towards the post office with a casual gate. His head rang with all the advice Steel had just bestowed upon him. All of it sounded very concrete and without emotion. But if Steel swore by it, then so would Kodi.

Without a thought Kodi turned down the alley leading to the post office.

"Hey Kodi!" A familiar voice snarled.

Kodi turned around sharply. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped, mostly for the fact Dusty was talking to him; which she hadn't done directly since the incident. Kodi turned both his shoulder towards her. Kodi realized she was the troubled one, and Kodi would put her into her place so she would stop disrupting the team.

Dusty walked purposefully towards Kodi, her head low between her shoulders, her eyes narrow and focused, and her upper lip trembling in perpetual fury. She suddenly bolted forwards and lifted her paws off the snow, aiming both of them into Kodi's shoulders. Kodi managed to deflect most of the blow by slipping to the left and letting her fly past him at the last moment. Quickly she regained herself, turned and snarled. "You PIG!!!!"

Kodi felt on the verge of apologizing and falling into his old pattern of being the one to take the fall and be in the wrong. But Steel's advice loomed in his head like thunder, and he knew this was his moment to take control, to be the leader.

"You couldn't take it could you?" Dusty said with a tear beginning to form in the corner of her eyes. "You couldn't take not being the leader anymore. Admit it!!"

Kodi shrugged his shoulders and rolled his eyes as if it didn't matter, he hated Sarge anyways. "Why should I care about that pigeon? He's nothing but a chump who doesn't know how to keep his tongue straight to a true leader."

Dusty's eyes widened visibly at his remark and her tears flowed a little more freely. But they flowed like bitter frustrated tears rather than sad ones. She wondered how Kodi could talk about Kirby in such a way. "How can you be so heartless?"

Kodi shrugged his left shoulder and turned his head to the right in an uncaring motion. "Sometimes being heartless is at the heart of a good leader." Kodi quoted Steel.

Dusty appeared to be on the verge of exploding into a million little pieces of vehemence. The fur on the back of her neck stood on end and her eyes turned livid. "What has gotten into you Kodi? You think your some hot stuff, but I'll tell you you're not. You're bringing this team down by acting like this."

Kodi growled fumingly, his attitude changing from cool to outright insane and angry. "Who are you to question me? You, you're nothing but a hussy mutt who can't keep her head on right. You should hardly have any business talking to me. So why don't you just run off with your little boyfriend and leave me to do my job? And if anyone's dragging this team down, it's you. Never should have put a female on the team." Kodi returned to cool and composed as he secretly enjoyed the shocked look Dusty gave.

Dusty shook with rage now, her paws gripping the snow to lung forwards, her back legs anxious to spring. The only thing which held her back was a thread of composure tensed to it's very end. No longer did tears flow from her seething eyes. "Kodi, I–"

"I what?" Kodi mocked. "You need someone to hold your paw while you go relieve yourself?"

Before Dusty even realized she had done anything and instigated a fight, she was in it, snarling and batting her paws out in front of her. Her teeth tried desperately to reach out and latch onto Kodi's pretty face to leave a nice scar there for him to remember her by.

Kodi leapt back in shock, but suddenly lurched forwards and snarled, batting his paws against Dusty's face. He wanted to driver her whimpering into a corner.

Quickly the fight degenerated into snarling wild madness as they threw each other about the little alley in rage beyond rage. If given half a chance in that moment both of them knew they would have gladly killed the other and danced upon their grave.

"Hey, stop it!! STOP IT!!" Mr. Simpson screamed as he ran down the alley from the post office to the two dogs struggling on the snow against the side of the building. Quickly he latched onto Dusty and threw her to the other side of the alley, but Kodi charged upon her and bit her neck, drawing blood. Instantly Mr. Simpson raised his right hand, balled it into a fist, and brought it down on Kodi's right shoulder.

Kodi, caught up in his need to kill Dusty, and feeling the blow to his shoulder, lurched around and bit Mr. Simpson's hand as hard as he could.

"AAAAHHHHH!!" Mr. Simpson screamed out as he snatched his hand back from Kodi's jaws.

The scream sounded like a bell at the end of a boxing match. Instantly Kodi and Dusty stopped snarling and fighting. Silence befell the street.

Mr. Simpson quickly pulled the mitten off. The blood had already begun to soak through the wool glove underneath. Mr. Simpson pulled the wool glove off, revealing a two inch bleeding gash next to a smaller one inch gash. A line of blood ran down to his pinky and fell pointedly in the snow. He looked at it for a moment like a strange new thing.

"I'm sorry … I, I … I didn't." Kodi said stepping forwards to Mr. Simpson.

Instantly Mr. Simpson's right hand lunged into the fold of his coat near his heart. The metallic click of the hammer being pulled back on Mr. Simpson's revolver greeted Kodi just before the barrel of the gun hovered over his head. Mr. Simpson held the gun steady at arms length, pointing the tip of the barrel right between Kodi's eyes.

Kodi knew, as well as Dusty, very few dogs in the north ever bit a human and survived. It was widely believed by humans once a dog got the taste for human flesh they would actively seek it out. It was also believed if the dog had the mouth foaming disease which drove them mad, they could pass it on to humans through a bight. So very few dogs lived once they bit their masters.

Quickly Kodi closed his eyes. He expected to hear the shot just before the bullet ripped through his brain and out the back of his skull. A second passed, and then another. Kodi wretched one corner of his right eye open to see what was happening.

Mr. Simpson still held the gun on him, but the conviction of the action had left him. His eyes darted away, debating if he should do it. Finally, as if the strength had left him, he lowered the revolver. Then turning he slipped the gun into his coat pocket, dawned his mitten, and walked steadily down the ally towards the post office.

Kodi exhaled long and slow, draining all the tension from his body. Slowly he sat in the snow and looked at the few drops of blood which had come off Mr. Simpson's hand. A tiny droplet of blood fell into the snow from his ear which had been torn by Dusty. It hurt, but not to bad. Regretting instantly what he did, Kodi almost vomited.

Dusty righted herself from the offset angle she had been thrown into by Mr. Simpson. She could feel the wound on her neck throb slightly. It didn't feel too great, and it didn't even let out enough blood to reach the snow. Dusty cast her eyes down the alley as something caught her eye.

Balto, Jenna, and Kirby all sat together just off from Dusty and Kodi. By the shocked expression splayed on their face they had obviously seen what almost happened.

Kodi's eye caught Dusty looking off and he looked sidelong at what she did. He saw his parents and Kirby with his swollen face. He just didn't know. It all seemed to have gone terribly wrong. He wasn't a leader, he had almost got shot, and now his parents and friends had more reasons to be suspicious. Kodi dared not move, but he knew he couldn't face them.

Quickly Kodi stood and followed after Mr. Simpson, swishing his tail as he went.

* * *

The bell above the door chimed delightfully as Mr. Simpson stepped in past the stove through a steam cloud which quickly dissipated after he closed the door behind him. Swiftly Mr. Simpson pulled his mitten off, revealing his bloody hand which seemed to bleed better in the warmth.

Mr. Conner, busy behind the counter with his face in a tablet of paper writing, didn't look up. "Ready to go?"

"No." Mr. Simpson said irritably as he raised his hand.

Mr. Conner looked up, and seeing the blood covering Mr. Simpson's hand, dropped his pencil. "My lord! What happened?"

Mr. Simpson quickly moved to a stiff-back wooden chair near the bulletin board. He sat roughly as he worked to undo his parka with his clean hand. "Kodi attacked me." Mr. Simpson said swallowing hard.

"Hold that thought." Mr. Conner said running into the back room. He rumbled around through a drawer somewhere out of sight. "Got it." He exclaimed as he ran back out and aimed to go around the far end of the counter. He then stopped as if a second thought had crossed his mind. He turned and opened a drawer and pulled out a small brown bottle which he stuck atop the armful of rags he held. Mr. Conner then quickly walked around the counter and across the room where he dropped to his knee in front of Mr. Simpson. "So what happened? Kodi attacked you?" He said as he uncorked the bottle with his teeth and spit the cork out on the floor.

"I was out there waiting for them like I usually am, and I heard this fight going on. So I ran to see and found Kodi and Dusty going at each other like they would kill each other."

Mr. Conner took a long sip off the bottle, and then put the bottle in Mr. Simpson's clean hand. Mr. Simpson took a long swig of the brown liquid, grimaced, and handed it back to Mr. Conner who poured it over Mr. Simpson's hand. Mr. Simpson tensed his whole arm, and then settled down. Mr. Conner then set the bottle down and began to wrap the rag around Mr. Simpson's hand.

"I was so angry I almost put a bullet in his head right then." Mr. Simpson said bitterly.

"Why didn't you?" Mr. Conner asked distractedly as he worked the rag around Mr. Simpson thumb.

"I didn't think it was his fault. He's been acting kind of funny around Dusty for a while now" Mr. Simpson replied honestly. "But I could be wrong."

"No, I think you're right that it's not his fault." Mr. Conner smiled. "I think it's your fault."

Mr. Simpson looked at Mr. Conner with vehemence boiling in the edge of his eyes. "Why?"

"I've seen you running Kodi back on the team. Maybe he's just getting antsy about not being in the lead any more. You put him in the lead again and maybe it will all work out?" Mr. Conner said as he tucked the first rag under itself, and picked another one up and began to wrap it. Already the blood was soaking through the first rag.

Mr. Simpson bowed his head as he let this statement flow across his mind in a purposeful way. "Perhaps you're right Mr. Conner. Perhaps you're right."


	16. The Evil Taketh Over

**Okay everyone, no I'm not dead, no I didn't forget. This chapter has just been a challenge for me to finish, what with my father and sister moving, my job, a dog, and my book's I keep putting the main focus of my energy into. But this is just a short chapter. The next one will be coming along soon, and will probably be a little longer. Anyways, enjoy. **

**

* * *

  
**

Kodi's eyes stared fiercely out on the world, but nobody was home behind them. In front of him Jenna and Balto stood side by side, Balto slightly behind and to the left. Jenna looked to be going on and on about how unintelligent Kodi was for doing such a stupid thing. Balto sporadically shot in what appeared to be a supportive remark, but for the most part he just scowled and shook his head in dissatisfaction. What ever they were saying, Kodi didn't catch a word of it as he bowed his head and gave quick agreeing statement under his breath, "Yes mum; I got it; Understood."

It wasn't that Kodi didn't pay attention to some extent. He understood what they were saying on a relative level. But facing them with his new persona in this instant seemed as far fetched as running a team of badgers to the moon and back. He had just beaten his own funeral, which made him feel ecstatic in a certain way. Finally, after what seemed an eon of continuous monologue, the one sided battle began to wind down.

"-We'll talk with you more about this when you get back from the mail run, if you even go that is. I wouldn't be surprised if Mr. Simpson throws you off the team forever after what you did. Kodi you bit him! You attacked your master! You're lucky you're still standing. Not many dogs are standing where you are." Jenna paused to catch her breath. She looked indirectly at Balto, wanting him to say a little.

"I just don't know what to say Kodi. I don't know what's gotten into you these last few weeks? I mean, I feel as if I hardly know you." Balto said without much exertion, as if the words were too tender to utter unless he did it lightly. His face said he didn't really expect an answer in return.

This was good, since Kodi didn't really have an answer he wished to voice. He didn't want to tell his parents, or the team, about Steel and what he had taught to him this morning. Kodi also didn't wish to tell them what he knew about Kirby and his conniving ways.

Kodi's eye's drifted to Kirby's broken and sulking form. He looked on at Kodi's tongue thrashing with a delighted sort of expression. Even though Kodi knew deep down it was wrong to be angry with him, since he was hurt, he couldn't help it. Kodi knew Kirby was after the golden Collar, even though to everyone else the evidence didn't add up to it. But they didn't know what Kodi knew. Kodi knew as soon as it came time for the race Kirby would make some sort of 'miraculous' recovery and be put in the lead. The thought of it made Kodi's face grow sour.

The distant and exact sound of the bell ringing above the front door to the post office sparked like an alarm, indicating Mr. Simpson's return. On cue Balto touched his nose against Jenna's shoulder affectionately. "Jenna." He whispered into her ear.

She looked sidelong at Balto, then bowed her head as she turned back to Kodi for one last point. "We'll be sure to talk to you about this later Kodi." She stated as she twisted around in an abrupt manner. She then hastily dashed away.

Balto looked one last time at his son, shaking his head in a slow sad way as he did so. Then he turned and followed after Jenna around the corner of a shed and down the alley out of sight.

Kodi watched them go, and kept his eyes on the corner of the shed they had disappeared behind long after they were gone. Next he turned and fixed his eyes on his teammates begrudgingly.

Since Mr. Simpson had went inside, most likely to bandage his hand; Kip, Fell, and Ralph had appeared on the scene. They sat across the back alley near Dusty, discreetly talking to her. No doubt, Kodi thought, they were badmouthing him. Kodi had an idea of going over and telling them all to cram a dog-bootie in it. Yet he couldn't bring himself to do it, and instead he just scowled in a menacing way, letting them all see him seething.

Yet another more distant part of Kodi remembered what his parents told him about Steel, and how he was nothing but bad news. It certainly could be true. No doubt he had gone over the edge with his new personification. Perhaps he could pull back a little, be like he had been when he first led. But that was silly. Back then he had been a terrible leader. Now he was on a path towards greatness. Steel had said there would be moments when everything would seem like it was coming down on his head. He'd only need to stick it out and everything would show itself true soon enough.

Mr. Simpson stepped around the corner of the post office and walked briskly into the yard. His head and body turned slightly towards Kodi as he did so, his eye's betraying no emotion. Quickly he marched to the sled and stood for a moment. Mr. Simpson looked at the rest of his team. They all looked at him, expecting him to somehow address them.

Mr. Simpson's eye's fell onto Kirby and his swollen eye. With quickness in his step he strolled towards Kirby and dropped down onto one knee before him. He took Kirby's head in his mittens and looked at the eye. It seemed fine besides the swelling. Mr. Simpson then rubbed his hands down Kirby's side, and like he had expected, Kirby whimpered involuntarily at the pain. Mr. Simpson sighed. "I'm afraid you may have to stay out of this one Kirby." He said rubbing his mitten over Kirby's head. Kirby looked stunned, but not altogether surprised.

Mr. Simpson stood up and surveyed the rest of his team. He turned and looked across the yard at Kodi. Kodi looked back at Mr. Simpson with a casual unfeeling expression on his face. Mr. Simpson knew Kodi must have attacked Kirby. What could he do? Mr. Simpson knew he had to put Kodi back in the lead, or banish him from the team, which he couldn't do since Kodi was to good a dog.

Dusty grinned as she leaned towards Ralph. "Watch this." She growled with pleasure. "Kodi's never going to run on this team again."

"Kodi!" Mr. Simpson quipped.

Kodi stood and looked at Mr. Simpson like a convict about to receive life, or a parole.

"Come on Kodi." Mr. Simpson said as he strolled to the lead position of the sled. "Guess you made your point clear enough." He said picking up the harness.

Quickly Kodi stepped to Mr. Simpson's side and stood with a proud tilt to his head as Mr. Simpson draped the harness over his shoulders and picked up Kodi's legs and put them inside it. When Mr. Simpson finished Kodi turned and smirked at Dusty, before sticking his tongue out at her in a childish victory. He grinned and looked ahead, as if studying the trail before them.

Dusty's jaw dropped.

"Come on Dusty." Mr. Simpson said as he picked up the trace behind Kodi. "It's time to go."

* * *

Balto nearly leapt out of his skin when Jenna suddenly turn to the edge of the building and collapse into the snow crying. They had scarcely made it more than a hundred yards from the post office, and neither of them had spoken a word since they left.

"Jenna!" Balto exclaimed dropping to the snow next to her. Her sobs bubbled forth. A sigh of relief overtook Balto as he realized she wasn't hurt or unconscious. "What is it?"

"What is it?" Jenna said lifting her face to Balto with lightning fury. Her eye's were bright red and bloodshot. Tears flowed in a river from their edges, and her face contorted in such a way as if to spit on Balto. "What is it!?!" She repeated even haughtier. "You and me almost had to watch Kodi's brains blown out today, and you want to know what's wrong?"

Balto grimaced at the error in his thought. "I just, you know …"

Jenna sniffed deeply. She shook her head and gripped her eye's tight. She knew it wasn't his fault. "Never mind." She said without emotion. "I'm not angry at you. I'm angry at Steel, and what I'm afraid he's done to our son." She sniffed. "Did you see how he looked when I talked to him just now? He wasn't even there. He didn't hear a word I said. He looked …" Jenna sobbed. "Just like Steel does when I talk to him."

* * *

_(Later that day) _

As the evening grey light drifted towards the deep darkness of late evening the wind began to pick up. It blew out of the north in a steady grinding way, surrounding everything with it's surging drifts; including the town of White mountain which hunkered low against the cold breeze.

To the west, across a broad frozen outlet of the Netsuke River, a team of dogs toiled along a trail which quickly drifted over with fingers of blowing snow. It took no time at all for the team to cross the expanse, blasting through snowdrifts which flew over them like clouds. They climbed the bank of the river and onto the front street. Quickly they surged through the town, stopping without the musher on the back saying a word in front of the squat post office made of logs. The dogs were used to this trail, so much so that Kodi, the leader, could do it in the pitch black of night with a stuffy nose.

Kodi shook his body from the back to the front, scattering a thin layer of ice which had accumulated in his fur. The mask of ice from his breath clung solidly to his face as he looked around the little town in a bored way. Movement in an upstairs window caught his keen eye. A young girl with her head propped in her hands peered out of a second story window at the team. She looked terribly bored, much more so than Kodi. After a moment she turned and stepped away from the window, leaving a frosty spot where she had been breathing on the glass.

Kodi grinned and looked casually over his left shoulder at his team. Which was how he thought of them now, his team. No longer were they just 'the' team, they were his team. He owned them, and like the owner, he ruled them.

"Quit looking so tired." Kodi commanded, to which he received a grimy scowl from the entire team as they panted for breath. "If this team is going to win the golden collar we're going to have to do some work, get in shape so we could run this again and again without rest." Kodi grinned as Ralph sneered at the remark.

On Ralph's cheek there was a spot of frozen blood from a recent wound. It was merely a reminder Kodi had instilled in him during a rest period when Ralph decided to grow a lip and flap it. "Get me?"

Nobody replied but stared at him with bitter faces.

Kodi's eyes narrowed as a growl rose in his throat. "Get me?" He said more sternly.

"Yes." Came a halfhearted reply from everyone but Dusty. But Kodi pretended not to notice as his eyes followed Mr. Simpson as he lifted the snack bag from the sled and set it on everything else to dig through. Mr. Simpson's breath flew over his shoulders as he pulled the bag up to his hood reached in and counted out five fish-balls.

Mr. Simpson then turned and went quickly through his ritual of snacking the dogs. He dropped a fish ball in front of each dog as he strolled slowly to the front of the sled, not bothering to stop and rub their shoulders or say kind words to them; he hadn't the time for that.

With the dogs fed he turned and put the bag back into it's spot on the sled. He then took the mail up in his hands, flinching when the weight fell on his hurt hand. Readjusting the mail he quickly climbed the steps. He paused and fumbled with the handle to open the thick wood door. Finally he got it and entered into the steamy room, closing the door behind him.

Mr. Fanon sat by the stove with his feet propped on an empty dynamite box. He wore a grey wool sweater and canvas trousers with bone dry sealskin boots with polar bear liners. In his right hand he held a glass of whisky; no doubt his six or seventh one for the evening. Mr. Simpson's suspicions were confirmed as Mr. Fanon turned his head and began with a drunken slur. "Yuuur late." He said bitterly. "Keept me late here. You knew how I hate thaat?" Mr. Fanon's free hand swirled above his lap as If spinning an imaginary bingo wheel. "Annd you off galerventing abut like a pixy of the nurth." He giggled as he raised the glass to his lips and finished the brown liquid in one long gulp.

Mr Fanon gingerly set the glass on the floor next to the chair, then slammed his hands on the arms of the chair, stood, steadied himself from falling into the stove, and turned. "Iff yu were in the suth, youud've been fired lung agu." He murmured as he drug his feet across the floor. His eyes fell to the two mail sacks Mr. Simpson still held in his hands.

"I'm sorry Mr. Fanon for being late, but I had a problem with my d –"

"Alwies an excuse wifh you native boys, isn't it?" Mr. Fanon replied rather sharply. "Juust can't fess up tu us whyte boys been better than you at eferthing." Mr. Fannon reached out and grabbed the mail from Mr. Simpsons hands. But he misjudged their weight and they fell onto the floor, spilling one of them open. "Loof what you stopid eskimu did." Mr. Fanon laughed. "Pifk it up." He said swinging his arm at Mr. Simpson in a mock punch. "Before is suppose you to yur supyor." He laughed, but in a bitter and terribly lonely way; as if mocking Mr. Simpson was the only fun he had besides sitting in front of the stove drinking cheap whisky all day.

Mr. Simpson dropped to his knee, removed his mittens, and began scooping the mail back into the bag. Mr. Fanon stood over him watching with a smile on his face. "I herf you be ruining the Alaska five hondred?"

Mr. Simpson looked up into Mr Fanons greasy face. "Yes." He replied simply as he looked back at his work.

"Yoos plan on ruining it wif yoor crummy gear?" Mr. Fannon asked in a belittling way. "Youf be th laufing stuck of te race … dey kik yous out without a care. Nootive's like yous nu good except to ruin the mail, wiff your halfwolf lead dug."

Mr. Simpson knew not to start into Mr. Fannon when he was drunk. It only led to bad things which he didn't need right now with his team going awry. So Mr. Simpson simply bit his lip, swallowed hard, and forgot Mr. Fannon's racist statements.

When Mr. Simpson returned from the post office Kodi could tell the mail swap hadn't gone to well. Mr. Simpson glowed with a bitterness which moved him down the steps to the sled like a frigid machine, incapable to focus as he failed to remember to tie the mail down before they took off. Surly enough as they began to move the mail slipped off the side of the sled and turned over in the snow Mr. Simpson dove onto the mail for Nome like a bearcat, yelling and swearing and kicking at the snow as he pulled the mail up and jammed it back on the sled. He secured it down with several swift, not easy to undo, knots. He then jumped on the back of the sled. "HIKE!!" He nearly screamed.

The intensity of Mr. Simpsons voice made Kodi throw his chest into the harness, ripping the breast strap apart as Kodi took several steps ahead of the team. "WHOOOAAAA!!!" Mr. Simpson shrieked at Kodi.

Instantly aggravated beyond his means by the whole mess Mr. Simpson sprinted to the front of the sled. In one hand he grabbed Kodi's collar and in the other he grabbed the shredded lead harness. Mr. Simpson then began to haul all of them towards the old barn located two blocks down the street from the post office.

* * *

The inside of the barn wasn't as warm as the inside of most of the buildings in White Mountain, but it was certainly warmer than it was outside. Mr. Simpson led the team into the building, dragging them by their threadbare harnesses into the relative heat of the indoors. Even inside their breath formed little clouds of vapor which testified to how cold it was even in here.

With the sled and mail inside Mr. Simpson jostled to the back of the sled and slid the barn door shut, being sure to twist the wood knob to lock it against the wind. He then turned and pulled his hood behind his head and looked across the barn.

Two men sat on the far side of the building in front of the stove. They briefly looked over their shoulders at Mr. Simpson and back at the blaze. In muted tones they spoke to each other, as if appraising notes on a speech they had recently heard. To either side of the men yellow eyes stared through the cracks in the fence at the newcomers with excited curiosity. But they were trapped inside their little 'stalls,' and could only gaze on silently; even though a few of them at the back of the group whined for the others to move so they could observe.

Mr. Simpson didn't waste a moment as he went to work unhitching his dogs. He started with Kodi, unclipping his collar, and sliding the harness down his front legs. Mr. Simpson then gently rubbed Kodi's shoulder and scratched him behind the ears in a tender playful way as he muttered cheerful remarks into his ear. He then led Kodi by his collar over to the nearby stall on the right side of the sled. He slipped Kodi in through the small door and shut it.

Being in the stall wasn't a new thing for Kodi. Anytime another team was in the barn Mr. Simpson placed them in the stalls. Only when there wasn't anybody else spending the night did they get free range of the building.

Kodi didn't waste a moment as he strolled nonchalantly to the nearest corner on the outer edge of the building. A large pile of straw was built up there, which made it the best spot to rest, especially since the rest of the floor scarcely had any straw on it, which would make it a rough night for his teammates. But hey, Kodi was the leader and should get the best treatment, right?

Kodi twisted around three times before finally laying over on his side. It felt good to have so much comfort under his sore body. Kodi smiled and peered through the corner of his eye as Dusty was pushed through the door. She looked around the little stall, assessing the thinly spread straw across the floor. She then looked at Kodi and scowled. Yet she said nothing as she moved to the far corner of the stall from Kodi and lay over on her side.

Mr. Simpson put Ralph, Kip, and Fell into the stall in the same way. He then took the tin dog dishes out of the sled and set them at his feet in line. Next he grabbed the large tin pot from inside the bag, and a sizable chunk of frozen moose meat wrapped in a gunnysack. Nonchalantly he unwrapped the sack from around the frozen chunk of meat. He then put the meat into the pot and went to the door and slipped out. A moment later he returned with snow filled to the pots rim around the meat. Indifferently he moved to the far end of the room where the two musher's sat, still chatting quietly amongst themselves, seemingly unaware of Mr. Simpson's presence as he strolled up.

Mr. Simpson stepped besides them and set the pot of the stove. "Sure is warm night tonight?" He laughed.

One of the musher's, a man with a full brown beard, looked up as if in the middle of something. "Yup."

"So where you heading?" Mr. Simpson asked.

The other man with a wolf skin hat and red moustache answered. "Nome for the Alaska five-hundred. We plan to win the race. You?"

Mr. Simpson shrugged, as if casting a sure bet onto a card table. "I'm the mail courier between Nome and White Mountain. But I plan on entering to."

The man with the beard laughed and turned full on to Mr. Simpson in his seat. "A native boy like you?"

The words shaved the grin from Mr. Simpson's face. "What's that supposed to mean?" He put simply, betraying a readiness to fight to the last breath as he gripped his fist inside his mitten.

The man with the red moustache, sensing the tension, cut in. "What my friend means, is how can you afford it on a couriers salary?"

Mr. Simpson let the remark pass as he unclenched his fist. Although he didn't let it go completely. "I got a loan from a … friend."

"Stole it you mean?" The bearded man said plainly. "Wouldn't put it past a boy like you to steal some poor fella's gold to enter."

Mr. Simpson felt his fist balling up again. He refused to answer as he let his eyes glare without emotion at the man.

The man with the red hair jammed his elbow into the bearded mans stomach. "I told you to keep your mouth shut."

"I'm just telling it like it is." The man replied to his friend. "And if I don't like natives, then I'm going to say something about it until he gets out of my firelight."

Mr. Simpson felt on the verge of pounding the mans face in and throwing him out of the barn. But he got the hint, bit his lip, and walked back to the sled to wait for the food to cook. He sat roughly and stared across the barn at the two men as they talked quietly. Calmly he slipped his hand into the bag he sat on and retrieved his meal, a frozen fruitcake, which he nibbled on.

In the pen Kodi slept deeply on his stack of hay, while his friends shivered and shifted their bodies on the cold, hard, ground.


	17. A Brothers Worry

To all the people who've read the story this far. I'm sorry I haven't been able to keep up with this story much, but I try to do a bit here and there. This chapter was originally supposed to be twice as long, but I cut it in half and decided to just put the rest in the next chapter so you wouldn't have to wait that long.

**Chapter 17**

_(One Week Later) _

Charlie, the telegraph operator, twisted the handle, pushed the white frosted glass door in, and stepped into the blast-furnace warmth of the post office. He closed the door behind him. Instantly the steam cloud dissipated away. For a moment he stood next to the stove feeling the heat on his half frozen face. It felt good, like the first rush of heat after a shot of hard liquor.

Mr. Conner stepped into view from around the partition separating the back sorting area from the front desk. In his hand he held his glasses, gingerly polishing them with a cotton cloth. Finished he put the cloth into his left back pocket and the glasses on his face. "Charlie, is that you?" He beamed. "If it is the wind's changed direction." He said, recalling a private joke between them.

Charlie raised his right mitten and pushed the hood on his coat back. He wore a black wool hat with a little bob at the top. "I think it's getting colder." He said sarcastically with a smile.

"Sometimes it does that up here; it up and gets colder just when you think it couldn't get any colder." Mr. Conner smirked lightly

Charlie shrugged his shoulders, which hardly moved the bulky coat he wore, making him look as though he had had some sort of spasm in his back.

"So what are you doing here Charlie?" Mr. Conner asked stepping to the counter and putting his hands down on top of each other.

Charlie ambled across the room and up the chest high counter. He slipped his outer mittens off and set them down in front of him. Then he unbuttoned his coat and reached in, as if he were reaching for a gun, and pulled out a small pile of folded flyers. He carefully peeled one of them off and gave it to Mr. Conner.

Mr. Conner turned the paper over and pushed his glasses down on his nose. He read it carefully, mouthing a few of the words as he went. "… Banquette … musher's … sorry … notice." He then furrowed his brow and looked at Charlie. "Is this really happening tonight?"

Charlie leaned on the counter with one elbow and faced his body slightly away from Mr. Conner in an uncomfortable way. "Yup." He bowed his head twice.

"It's a bit late to be getting these flyers out, don't you think?" Mr. Conner said tipping his brow to Charlie. "Most the musher's probably won't be able to make it. They're most likely out on the trail training."

"They would have been out sooner if I had gotten my paper parcel from Anchorage sooner. It was supposed to be here last week. I didn't get it till yesterday" Charlie said pointedly and with a slightly accusing tone to his voice.

"That's not necessarily because of Mr. Simpson. It could have just as easily been one of the other musher's down in Mukluk, or Nenana." Mr. Conner replied.

Charlie shook his head, seeming to chew on the idea. "Well, however it happened doesn't matter. Could you just be sure to hang it up on your bulletin board and point any musher that comes in here to it?"

"Sure," Mr. Conner replied solemnly. "It would be my pleasure." He turned and walked around the counter, behind Charlie, and to the board by the stove. He took several thumb tacks out of the corner of the board and stuck them into the corners of the paper. Then he stepped back and looked at the typed page in the center of the board. He thought it looked level and very prominent.

Casually he turned and ambled back towards Charlie. "Right in the prime reading location." He smiled. "Mrs. Tussle was in here just the other day, and boy did she give me an earful about her husband." Mr. Conner chuckled. "I guess her husbands betting everything he owns that's not nailed down." Mr. Conner laughed and held his hand to his face to control himself.

Charlie smirked, but his mind seemed elsewhere. "Yeah, that so?"

Mr. Conner tried to read his friends expression. "You got something on your mind Charlie?"

Charlie shook his head and stood up straight. "No, no … nothing to big, really."

Mr. Conner smirked. "Come on Charlie, you can tell me anything. Don't hold back."

Charlie shifted his weight from his left to right foot, then leaned harder on his elbow, looked around, then stood up straight. "Well, I guess I'm just … wondering how well Mr. Simpson's doing?"

Mr. Conner's face momentarily twisted up in befuddlement. Then he relaxed as he realized what Charlie was getting at. "Oh … _he,he,he_, I thought you were saying he was sick." Mr. Conner laughed more. "I thought you knew some bad new I didn't even know about

"I was just wondering what you think his odds were at winning." Charlie said, no longer stifled by his own unease to speak of gambling.

"Oh … I'm not sure … he's a good musher, but he's been having trouble lately with his lead dog, Kodi. I don't know … some sort of territorial dispute going on with him I guess. If Kodi was my dog I'd get him fixed, but that also ruins good sled dogs." Mr. Simpson said, not really knowing if this was something Charlie wanted to hear.

But Charlie appeared to be eating each and every word which came out of Mr. Conner's mouth with hungry eyes.

Mr. Conner, seeing his friend's glee, continued. "He's also got new gear, which I have to tell him is ready today." Mr. Conner finished, more as a note to himself.

"That could be good." Charlie said with interest. "Could also be bad. New gear means he won't be totally used to it by the time the race comes around." His eye's fell in his sockets, and he appeared to be deep in thought.

Mr. Conner gave an agreeing nod, then fell silent for a moment as well. "Say, what are his odds anyways?" Mr. Conner started.

"He's one of the long shots on the board. They have him pegged near the bottom with odds of …" He thought. "I think they said fifty to one."

Mr. Conner tried not to act surprised, but he couldn't help it and he rolled his eyes. "They must not think much of our local boy if they give him those kind of betting odds."

"That's why I was wondering if he would be a good bet, a home town secret if you will." Charlie said. "Could sure make a ton of cash with him if he won."

Mr. Conner nodded. "Who's at the top of the board?" Mr. Conner asked.

The question seemed to stump Charlie. "Oh, some guy. I don't recognize the name, it's Russian. But I sure recognize his lead dog. It's the winner of the last Alaska five-hundred, Steel."

Mr. Conner's eyebrows went up in his head, more out of understanding rather than shock. "I see. And what odds did they give him?"

"He's at the top, two to one. They truly think he's going to be in front. He has a lead dog that knows the trail, and has won before. Of course his dog is older now," Charlie chuckled. "But you sure wouldn't know it if you saw his team. Quick as greased lightening."

Mr. Conner shook his head in agreement, though he hadn't seen the team around.

"Well…" Charlie said slipping his hands back into his mittens. "I suppose I better hurry up and get the rest of these flyers out."

"Yeah, yeah " Mr. Conner agreed halfheartedly. "Maybe I'll come and see you later this week, before the race really gets underway. We could play some cribbage?"

Charlie shook his head. "Sounds good." He pulled his hood back up over his hat and turned towards the door. He pushed the handle down, opened the door, and stepped out. A moment later the door closed and Mr. Conner stood in silence.

Mr. Conner, lost in the silence of the post office, put his hands on his back and stretched his spine out. He wondered what he should do now. All the mail was sorted and the books were balanced and up to date. In a way he hadn't wanted Charlie to go. He wanted him to stay to talk more. Maybe Mr. Conner could have brewed some coffee. But he was used to the silence. Nobody stayed in the post office longer than necessary.

Quietly Mr. Conner walked to the window by the stove. The frost on the glass was thick, and weeks old. It never thawed up except in the summer which was months past, and months away. Mr. Conner raised his hand to the top of the window and felt for the rusted flat razor he kept there. He pulled it down and looked at it, then carefully put it between his thumb and forefinger. He quickly scratched it diagonally across the glass, opening a little window out into the street which he peeked through. A team of dogs rushed by, their bodies dark silhouettes against the snow and other buildings. Behind them came the sled with the musher pushing. They were heading out of town. Mr. Conner figured they hadn't got the news about the banquette.

With a slow deliberateness in his step, Mr. Conner slipped the razor back on the sill and stepped away from the window, which was already halfway frosted over. He stopped as he walked and held his hands over the stove. Feeling the lack of heat he sat on the stool in front of it. He snatched the handle up from the floor under the stove and opened the door. A bed of red coals shined bright, and towards the back a flame lit up and burned on some charcoal. Mr. Conner grabbed several split piece of pine out of the wood box and placed them in the stove in a stacked patter. By the time he shut the door the chunks were ablaze.

Outside Mr. Conner heard another team of dogs coming down the street from the way Mr. Simpson would be come from. He pulled his pocket watch out and flipped it open. If it was him he was more than on time, he was early; which of course hadn't happened in almost as long as Mr. Conner had worked here.

* * *

Like dominoes the team collapsed into the snow just a few feet off the porch of the post office; all of them except Kodi that is. Kodi stood defiant against the gravity and muscle fatigue which wanted to pull him down. He willed himself to be stronger than his teammates, to show them exactly what a true leader was made of. He breathed deep and deliberate, then turned and growled down his nose with a sneer which would make blood turn to milk. "None of you are worth half as much as your pelts would be."

Their eyes lifted weakly, but hadn't the energy to reply.

Mr. Simpson stepped off the sled and sunk the snow hook with a firm stomp. He snatched up the snack bag and casually strolled up the right side of the team. He fed and pet Kip, then Fell. "Good boys." He muttered to each of them. He then pet Dusty, "Good girl." He said winking at her as he put the fish ball under her muzzle. Then he gave a fish ball to Ralph, "Good boy." Mr. Simpson stepped in front of the team and fished into the bag for another fish ball. He got one out and put it in Kodi's waiting mouth. "Good boy."

As Mr. Simpson leaned over to pet Kodi's head the lip of the treat bag slipped from his mitten, and another fish ball fell at Kodi's feet. Kodi snatched at it, somewhat out of surprise, but mostly out of greed.

Mr. Simpson grasped at the bag, then smirked. "Alright, you can have two." He patted Kodi on the head between the ears, then returned to the sled. He put the treats down, then picked up the mail bag and rushed up the step through the door into the post office.

Kodi watched Mr. Simpson go into the post office as if he were about to slip away. As soon as Mr. Simpson was well within the post office he turned and snatched Ralph's half eaten fish ball from under his nose.

Ralph's eye's shot wide. "Hey you cheat!"

Kodi sat back on his haunches and raised his head over Ralph's, all the while staring down his nose with a murderous and slightly crazed look in his eyes. "So are you gona take it from me? … Make me behave? … Or am I going to have to up and remind you of that nice little scar on your face?"

Ralph's back paws pressed into the snow for the pounce. The fur on the back of his neck stood so stiff the slight breeze didn't ruffle them in the least. His eyes were intent on Kodi's throat, ready to kill. But after a second the energy left him and he looked away, hurt and angry with no place to let it all go.

"Thought not." Kodi teased as he turned and eyed his treats between his front paws.

Ralph let his body ease down into a sitting position. His eyes locked onto the back of Kodi's head. Idly he imagined what it would look like if Kodi had the golden collar on, and had it tightened down until he couldn't breathe. He imagined Kodi choking and couching and talking in a pitchy tone, begging Ralph to help him. Yeah, he liked that.

Then suddenly Ralph felt something touch his right paw and he looked down at it. Dusty had pushed the second half of her fish ball to him. She looked at Ralph and nosed for him to go on and take it.

Ralph smiled a thank you smile, took it, and ate it in one quick snap.

Kodi wasn't without noticing what was going on. He had sensed Dusty's motion, and took a quick look over his shoulder at her. He saw her nose for him to go on, and then watched as Ralph snatched the fish ball up and chew.

Inside Kodi growled and wanted to kick Dusty in the teeth for what she did. Here she was, willingly giving her food, her energy, to this mutt. It irritated him to no end; but not enough to get him to say anything; at least not yet.

Just then Dakota, looking fresh as a daisy with a smile across his broad face, strolled out from behind the post office. He looked as if he were going elsewhere, but upon seeing the team he strolled towards them. "Hey there Kodi." He said happily.

Kodi raised his eyes to his brother, but said nothing. He then looked back down at his fish balls and ate, waiting for his brother to leave.

"What? To good for your ole' brother anymore?" Dakota smirked even wider. But his smirk failed as Kodi continued staring at the snow and eating his fish. "What's wrong with you Kodi? It's like your possessed or something." Dakota replied. Kodi remained silent. "Well I got some good news for you. I heard from Morse this morning that the musher banquet is tonight."

At this Kodi's eyes raised from his food, but only for a second, as if noticing a fly in his world.

"What's wrong with you Kodi? Are you sick?" Dakota asked.

Instantly Kodi's eyes flared up at his brother. "Maybe I'm just sick of your big ugly face nosing into my business."

Dakota laughed and smiled and closed his eyes as if it were all a big joke. "You never were good at playing the bad guy. I can se-"

Like a flash Kodi leapt to his feet and bared his teeth. The traces he was attached to came taught, jerking Ralph and Dusty forwards. A seething growl escaped his throat as he arched his head to the side, coiling up to strike like a viper.

Quickly Dakota stepped back a half dozen steps. His face went blank and his eyes fell in defeat, but then again rose in crisp rage. "Mom and dad were right." He turned sidelong to Kodi. "You have changed – and for the worst." Dakota turned full around, swishing his tale in a contemptible gesture. "Maybe somebody needs to get you fixed, get rid of those pent up feelings."

At this Kodi growled, but his eyes fell as if defeated. Suddenly he bared his fangs as some semblance of a comeback shot through his mind. "And maybe somebody should … should …" But again Kodi's eyes fell, betraying his loss. Inside his head he heard his thoughts finish. _"Kill you," _

Dakota shook his head and walked around the corner of the post office he had just come around. All the while keeping one eye on Kodi, as if he were afraid Kodi would lash out at him in the last instant.

Mr. Simpson stepped nosily out of the post office and down the steps as Mr. Conner closed the door behind him. He snatched up the snow hook and threw it into it's pouch. "HIKE!" Mr. Simpson yelled as he pushed the sled forwards.

* * *

Balto and Jenna stood side by side around the back of the post office near the equipment shed, waiting for Dakota to come back. They watched with fevered excitement bursting behind their eyes and flowing rhythmically in their smoky breath which escaped their muzzles in great clouds.

"Well?" Jenna asked impatiently.

Dakota lowered one eyebrow, unsure. He shrugged his shoulders and tried to pretend he wasn't bothered on as deep a level as he was. "I don't know. I don't even recognize him anymore. It's like he's not my brother."

Jenna sat back sharply. Tears began to wedge into the corner of her eyes. Then all at once they burst, and flowed down her fur, freezing into icicles as they went. She gritted her eyes shut. "I hate Steel! I hate him so much. He's taken our son Balto." She looked at him. "I just don't know what to do." She leaned heavily into his shoulder

Balto had to admit the same, and he did so by bobbing his head and closing his eyes. "Yes." He said firmly. "And there's nothing we can do about it. Steel hasn't done anything to show Kodi what kind of dog he really is … I just wish I knew what Steel was going to do." Balto shook his head. "I mean, I have an idea, I just wish I knew where at, so I could be there."

Jenna said nothing. Her eye's betrayed no thought. Her shoulders slumped in listlessness as she looked at the snow between her front paws.

"I think it's pretty obvious." Dakota said. "He's turning Kodi against you, as a little 'get back,' for what you did."

Balto shook his head. "No. Steel wouldn't stop at something as simple as that. He's got blood in his eyes."

Dakota's eyebrows rose. "What? Blood? What do you mean?" His eyes scanned back and forth between his mother and father.

Jenna sniffled and pulled some of her grief into her throat. "We're afraid Steel's going to Kill Kodi." She sniffled, loosing the battle. "Sometime during the race."

Dakota's ears turned ridged in surprise, then fell backwards against his head in a mixture of rage and befuddlement. "Kill him?" He asked in a surprised way. "Well, well, we need … we need to tell Kodi." He stammered.

Balto shook his head. "We tried Dakota. Kodi just doesn't care. Steel's just got him too pinned down under his paw for him to hear anything we say."

"Maybe you can't get through to him." Dakota almost shouted. "But he'll listen to me. We're brothers, and we have to listen to each other."

Balto closed his eyes and shook his head. Jenna looked deep into the wood grain of a nearby board. Both of them felt helpless and without a chance. They felt beat and tired.

Balto finally looked at his son. "I don't know… I just don't know… But I hope so"

"Then I'll do it." Dakota said turning, and like a flash he pounded his feet against the snow and was gone around the corner of the building.

* * *

They switched into their new gear in just a few minutes time. The carpenter had all the new stiff leather traces set out in the center of his workshop with the sled connected at the back like a trophy to be pulled home. The sled itself seemed to reflect a light which wasn't there. It glowed of a finely polished hardwood which had been curved and twisted by the finest and craftiest hands to make the most graceful curves imagined by human eyes.

Like caterpillars the team shed their old patched up traces and donned the reflective black leather of their new ones. Mr. Simpson switched the gear they had from one sled to the other in a giddy sprint. Then he leapt on the back and like a shot they ran off.

Mr. Simpson grinned as they went along the streets which overflowed with dogs and musher's. He felt light as a feather as he drifted along behind his team, idly smiling and waving at the other teams with their second rate gear as they passed him by. The sled handled beautifully and slid over the snow like polar bears on ice.

But Mr. Simpson knew his team probably didn't like the extra running as much as he did at the moment, and he quickly turned them back around and steered them to the post office. He fed and watered the team by the dim light of the day. Lastly he put one of the old leather leashes on Kodi's collar. "Come on boy. We have someplace to be." He said simply as he pulled him away down the alley.

* * *

Mr. Simpson's cabin smelled of back-drafted wood smoke and cooked meat. Everything in the room smelled of it, but in an inviting way, like a room filled with incense and strange and colorful sights. The main room of the cabin was cluttered with an array of things. There were benches and tables set in such awkward ways to each other as to make most of the room useless space. Sled parts and leather traces beyond repair proliferated every corner of the room as if thrown down in a moment of rage to never be picked up again. Traps and snares dangled like mechanical hands of doom from the rafters. A musty blanket covered the windows on the north side of the cabin where the wind blew in through the cracks, making the back part of the room dim and shadowy. Near the back corner the stove burned, snapping and popping.

The door closed behind Kodi and he felt the leash fall from Mr. Simpson's hand to the floor. Mr. Simpson pulled his overcoat off and flung it into a chair which had several pairs of underwear drying on the back of it. He turned and walked into an adjacent room. "Be right back Kodi; just want to comb my hair." Mr. Simpson said in jest.

Kodi took the moment to look around the little room in fascination. It was rare that anyone on the team got to go and see the inside of Mr. Simpson's cabin. The only time any of them got to come here was when they were doing really well, or were really hurt.

Suddenly from the north end of the room there came a low growl, the kind which starts in the throat and builds to a howl of rage, or falls into a simple clearing of the throat. This one stopped somewhere in between. "Kodi." There came a sharp and masterful voice from the gloom.

Kodi grimaced, he recognized the voice, but his eyes had yet to ascertain where it came from. Then he caught a bit of movement under a table across the room where a blanket hung halfway off the edge of the desk, partially concealing him. Kirby slowly stood.

Like some offish fool he ambled out from under the desk, past a table with a pile of traces, and into the empty space between Kodi and himself. Kirby's eyes narrowed. He looked better and stood stronger than the last time Kodi had seen him. This made Kodi appraise him in a new light, which gently curved his expression of malignance to one of praise. But this only happened for a moment.

"So?" Kodi said snapping a plastic smile onto his face. "I see you are still managing to breathe alright?"

Kirby growled and his eyes narrowed even more. "And I see you are still keeping that smug look on your face. Even though you are hurting everyone you know with it."

Kodi laughed and sneered and threw his paw flagrantly at Kirby. "I'm not hurting anyone old dog. I'm merely letting them know the new way things go around here."

"Also known as throwing your weight around and bullying." Kirby hissed.

Kodi's eyes narrowed this time. "Is it bullying to be a leader? Is it bullying to defy your parents and cut your own path for a change? Is it bullying to let your heart out for once?"

Kirby held silent for a moment, chewing thoughtfully on what Kodi said. "I call it bullying when you do it the way you do. And what your doing has nothing to do with letting your heart out."

Kodi sneered at the remark and turned half around as if he had grown bored of the conversation. "You're just jealous I'm now the leader, out running around, while you're stuck in here all day with nothing to do but sulk." Kodi laughed. "You're becoming paranoid old dog."

"It's you who's becoming paranoid. I'm in here thinking clearly, seeing what's going on." Kirby growled.

Kodi rolled his eyes. "There's just no getting through to you is there. You just will not accept it that I'm a better leader than you are."

"It's you nobody can get through to." Kirby barked and stepped forwards in a threatening manner. "You can't see what's going on here. You can't see what you're becoming."

"I know exactly what I'm becoming!" Kodi barked and rushed to Kirby, stopping just an inch from the older dog's nose. Kodi's voice fell as he began to speak. "And I won't listen … to some dog who's – who's … nothing."

Kirby held still, waiting, somehow wanting Kodi to attack him. But Kodi held still, and the temper of the moment began to fade. "Then I guess we're at a standstill." Kirby said finally.

"I guess we are." Kodi responded.

For a moment longer they stared at each other, sizing each other up for a fight that was brewing sometime in the future. Then Mr. Simpson stepped back into the room in a timely manner. He smirked at his two dogs, then bent down the patted them both on the head. "My good boys." He said ruffling their ears around. He then grabbed his bearskin coat off the chair, threw it around his shoulders, tucking his arms into the sleeves. Finally he bent down and grabbed Kodi's leash. "Come on Kodi. Let's go."

Kodi gave Kirby one last smirk as he turned and followed Mr. Simpson to the door and out.

* * *

As soon as Ralph stepped inside the boiler room and into the warmth he froze. For a moment Dusty and the others wondered what exactly he was doing, and then it happened. Ralph whipped around and began stamping his feet against the floor and growling in a perturbed manner. He twisted madly about, clawing out, trying to fight and hurt something that wasn't there. After a terrible moment Ralph collapsed sideways into the floor and lay there, panting, exhausted. "I'll kill him." He muttered indirectly.

Behind him Fell closed the door and moved across the room to his brother who sat up on the bench smiling at nothing.

Dusty casually walked to the back of the room under the bench. She paused and surveyed the floor, searching for the particular groove in the floor she liked to lie and stretch her muscles in after running. She found it and twirled around twice before lying down with her head on her paws facing the boiler and Ralph. "Then get in line." She said, half laughing.

"I'm serious!" Ralph snarled over his shoulder at her. "I can take a lot of abuse. But I swear, if that dog utters one more snotty remark … I'll tear his legs off and throw them in the ocean."

Kip, laying behind Ralph up on the bench and to the left, laughed. "Hehehehe, funny."

Fell, who sat down next to his brother and began gingerly licking the back of his head, looked up from his task. "And what perchance would you cleave them off with? Your canines?"

"My teeth." Ralph growled irritably, not understanding a word the smart mouth behind him had said. His frustration began to build in his voice and his body language again. "I need to take a walk, clear my head." He said standing up stiffly.

Just then the door to the boiler room flew open and a red and crème colored husky rushed in through the cloud of steam to the center of the room. Ralph tensed his shoulders as soon as he saw the color of the fur on the dog. But just when the rage in Ralph's eyes seemed to be the greatest, his face fell. "Oh … it's you."

"Guys." Dakota said looking at all of them with a quick twist of his head as the steam flew up around the door and began to fill the room with it's icy fingers. "I need your help."

Ralph growled. "You know you should consider yourself lucky you're you and not your brother. Otherwise I might have really hurt you just now. "

"That's why I'm here." Dakota pressed on. "It's my brother; I think Steel wants to kill him.

Dusty chuckled and rolled her eyes. "Then he'd be the third person in line."

"This is serious." Dakota said louder.

For a moment everybody fell silent, more from shock than actual respect, then Dakota continued. "My parent's think my brothers new friend Steel is trying to kill him, specifically sometime during the race." Dakota paused. "We need to help him."

At once every set of eyes on the team fell to the wayside or to some curious speck on the wall. They scratched their neck and rubbed their paw on the floor indifferently. Kip stuck his tongue out and shook his head.

"None of you want to help him!" Dakota said in shock. "Think of all the good things he's done for you, would-"

"Hey!" Ralph cut in with a sharp step forwards. "He could turn around and apologize about this." Ralph raised his paw and touched his face where the thin line of a scar could clearly be seen running along his cheek. "Any time he wants to. But as of yet, he's only reminded me of it as a warning not to get in his way, or slow him down, again."

Dakota's jaw slacked to the utmost. "No … he … my brother –"

"He did." Ralph said with the cold solidity of a hammer striking iron. "So don't expect an ounce of help from me; because if I get the chance, I'm going to kill him myself."

Ralph stepped forwards past Dakota in a brutish manner. He cut through the cloud of steam and through open door without saying another word.

Dakota stood still, unsure, unwilling, unknowing.

Dusty huffed a hard exhale through her nose, breaking the cold and uncaring silence which had followed Ralph's leaving. Her eyes betrayed boredom and nothing more as they rolled from the door to Dakota. "If you want to know where Kodi is, he's gone to the musher's banquette at the church."

Dakota turned his head and looked at her, trying to read through her face, but he couldn't. "Thanks."

"And just remember, he's not Kodi anymore. So don't think he'll understand."

"I think he will, we're brothers, we're blood." Dakota mustered forth in his most prideful tone he could.

Dusty rolled her eyes and turned her head and set it on her paws. "Whatever."


	18. The Death of Sanity

Chapter 18

Swirls of snow drifted through the street like lost ghosts ailing for a place to finally rest. Lantern lights glistened on every corner, casting out golden rays of light which made the dreary cold and stubborn lack of sunshine mildly enjoyable. People, few and far between, walked in a single direction, towards the center of town. Above the low and dark rooftops a shining shaft of light cast into the snowy air. This was where the people were going.

But Kodi's eyes and heart were barely in him to notice. His head hung low between his shoulders as thoughts rushed through his head. He was thinking about what Kirby had said, about how he was nothing more than a bully. Perhaps Kodi had been a little too tough on the team recently. Maybe he didn't need to break their spirits quite as much as he had been in the past few days. He had got his position back, which was what he wanted in the first place. Did he really have to go on and continue being this mean to his friends? Would it really be so bad to go back to being himself? Couldn't he smile and laugh with his team again like they had in the old days? Couldn't he be Kodi again?

But if he stopped would it just go back to the way it had been before he turned mean? Would Mr. Simpson see him calming down and take him out of the lead for fear that he had lost his oomph going into the race? Would Kirby, Dusty, and Ralph see his kindness as weakness and strike out at him with words and teeth while they felt the getting was good? The hole Kodi felt inside himself felt too deep to get out by simply flipping a switch.

Kodi shook his head and tried not to think, tried to push it all from his mind. He'd see what Steel had to say about it when he got to the Musher's banquette.

* * *

They rounded a corner and came into view of the church. Inside lanterns cast their pleasing glow from every window out into the darkened night. Several chimneys smoked from the roof like upturned cigarettes. Above the building the cross on the steeple, one of the few electric lights in town, was aglow with such brilliance above the smoke it made Kodi look up in reverence and squint his eyes in irritation.

All around men shuffled from the shadows in their bulky coats. Some trundled along with dogs, lean and brutish creatures which conjured up images of terror and blood. But most didn't have any dogs, but still looked equally gnarled and horrifying.

Three men smoked pipes at the door of the church on the small porch. They huddled in their coats, batting their mittens against the arms and stamping their legs to keep warm. Quietly they talked with each other, their voices carrying out before the porch with crystal clarity.

"I swear this is the longest deepest cold I've ever seen." One of the men said.

"Cold?" The other scoffed. "This is nothing. One time in Vancouver it was a hundred below. It's true. It was so cold that if you didn't breath through a lit pipe, you'd frostbite your lungs."

"I think you're lying." The third man chimed in.

"And you would know because you were there?" The second man accused.

Mr. Simpson and Kodi climbed the three steps to the church which growled with noise from within. Mr. Simpson put his hand out and pushed the door leaver down and stepped in.

Inside the church men and dogs crowded and bumped into one another. Every other pew had been taken and pushed against the wall to the left of the door near one of the four stoves. Men filled the pews and clustered in close to the heat with their coat fronts open. Many had lit cigarettes and pipes which clouded the air with a rich and musky scent of old tobacco. Several men held whisky bottles and flasks close to their chests, drinking in quick swills lest god see them in his house. Five men had brought a box and turned it upright and sat around casting cards down upon it with quick and exact motion, muttering vulgarities at their terrible luck.

At the front of the room George Neil, Mr. Scads, and Charlie the telegraph operator, sat in chairs to one side of the pew. Mr. Scads wore a large beaver-felt top hat which looked so crisp and shiny as to be new. Reverend Frill stood at the podium with his white sash over his moose skin parka; his beaver skin mittens were stacked atop one another in the upper right hand corner of the pew.

Mr. Simpson shuffled to the left and down to one of the more vacant pews. He sat and waited with Kodi's leash tightly gripped in his glove. Kodi sat on the floor beside him.

Kodi looked around for Steel, sniffing and trying to hear his voice. Several dogs were talking in hushed tones in addition to the humdrum of the humans. Most of them, as far as Kodi could tell, didn't have too much of interest to say. The dogs he could hear spoke about how warm it was, how nice it would be to have something soft to sit on. Few seemed interested in the race and only spoke of it was in jest. But out of all the voices, Steel's wasn't one of them.

After a while Reverent Frill cleared his throat nosily and banged a block of wood against the podium. Gradually the talking, drinking, and gambling mushers turned on the reverend. Their eyes bubbled with disdain at someone trying to pull them away from what they had been doing.

"I would just like the welcome you all to our mushers banquet, here under the eye of god. The banquet itself will be held at the Nome Bar since this building has very little insulation. After a brief announcement of the rules, and the course which the race will run you may depart. Firstly I would like to bring Mrs. Scads up to lead us in a prayer. So please, please, please … be patient." The reverend stepped back.

Mrs. Scads stood up from the front pew and quickly climbed the stairs. She wore her best turquoise colored Sunday dress, which had no insulating value. Her skin looked pale and her lips appeared to be slightly blue in color. Yet her eyes were defiant as she turned and faced the room of men. They burned with a heat so strong she could have melted the entire northern icecap by herself. Given half a chance.

Deftly she took the podium and gingerly cleared her throat.

"Here we go." Mr. Scads muttered under his breath as he dropped his head and looked into his chest.

Mrs. Scads briefly turned her eyes over her shoulder at him, then back. She cleared her throat again, smiled, and opened her mouth. "SINNERS! EVERY LAST ONE OF YOU ARE SINNERS! BOUND FOR THE EVERLASTING FIRERY HELL WHERE YOUR SKIN WILL BE PEELED FROM YOUR BONES, AND YOU'RE BONES CRUSHED TO MAKE THE DEVILS BREAD. MAY GOD HAVE MERCY ON YOUR DAMNED WORTHLESS SOULS." She spoke in one long sentence and ended so far out of breath she wheezed to fill her lungs again.

For a long minute the men stared at the woman, their eyes open in astonishment. Even Reverend Frill's mouth hung slack behind her. Mr. Scads still kept his face hidden in his chest. The room echoed with silence.

Then all at once there came a cheer and a shout. Every musher leapt to their feet clapping and whistling. They shouted merrily. "Best Prayer ever!" Then they fell into laughter and whistles of adornment.

Mrs. Scads' mouth dropped open in shock. She looked behind her at the reverend, who laughed along with everyone else. Mrs. Scads seemed to be the only one who didn't understand what was going on and her face betrayed her fury and befuddlement.

Slowly George Neil stood from his chair, clapping his hands and pushing his way to the podium in front of Mrs. Scads "Thank you, thank you." He bellowed loudly as the laughter began to subside. "Thank you Mrs. Scads for that … informative prayer on our souls." There came another murmur of laughter from the crowd. Mrs. Scads quickly turned and walked back down the steps to her seat.

"Now!" George Neil said sharply. "We are here to discuss the rules, as well as the course. We will also be handing out starting numbers this year, as to many dogs and mushers were injured the last time they tried to let everyone go at once."

To this news there came a definitive booing. Mushers held there mittens up and their thumbs down.

George Neil continued despite the booing. "Now some of you have run the course before, and you know the rules and the course. Some of you haven't, and that's what this meeting is for. Now the rules go like so … Number one, no musher shall …"

"Pst."

Kodi turned his head to the right and down at the floor. Steel's massive head pushed under the pew from behind and looked up at Kodi in a rather silly manner. "Kodi."

"Steel." Kodi returned with a smile of satisfaction. "I've wanted to talk to you."

"So have i." Steel returned.

"You have?" Kodi asked.

"Yeah. Some of the other leaders and me want to take you out and show you a good time. You know, leader stuff, alpha stuff."

Kodi's first instinct told him to say no. He began to groan deep down in his throat. "I don't …"

"Trust me."

"What about my team? Shouldn't I be with them?" Kodi asked.

"Well yeah. But that's your team, not your friends. You need to have friends who are Alphas. Friends who understand what it's like to be in your tracks." Steel replied as he pushed the rest of the way under the pews and sat up next to Kodi. Steel leaned in to Kodi. "It's difficult to be a leader, sometimes you just need to unwind with other leaders. Just tell some stories and laugh. So you want to come and hangout with us?"

Kodi thought about it. In his head he could hear his mother and father telling him not to, trying to remind him that Steel was an awful dog. Then Kodi's thoughts drifted to his teammates, and he imagined their cold uncaring stares if he returned to the boiler room. "Alright." Kodi finally replied. "When and where?"

Steel beamed. "Good. We'll be meeting at the Nome Bar after this." Steel turned and crouched down and began to push his way back under the pew. In just a second he was gone and Kodi resumed listening to George Neil talk about rule fifty-nine, "All mushers shall forgo the race, and help another musher if that musher is in need of medical help."

"And finally rule sixty; all mushers must carry these items during the entire race, and be able to present them upon completion of the race. Any musher, who finishes the race and doesn't have these items, will be disqualified. The items are; one ax, a medical kit, sleeping bag, tent, and a gun."

Nobody spoke as George Neil finished the rules he had been reading off of the papers he had scattered all over the podium. Meanwhile Mr. Scads stood and pulled a large upturned top hat from besides his chair and brought it to George Neil. George took the hat and turned back to the audience.

"Now in this hat we have put all your names. We will pull them out one by one, and you will receive your starting number in this order. Mushers will be starting in this order every thirty seconds so we don't have any accidents." George rummaged inside the hat, and pulled out the first name. "Kenith Broadson. If you would please come up and receive your number one."

A stringy clean-cut young man who looked to be so thin he could have been blown away by a stiff wind made his way from the back. In his mitted hand he held a leash connected to a young dog that appeared to be just as thin as him. The dog shook violently, whether from fear or cold Kodi couldn't tell.

"You are number one Kenith Broadson, and next week you will have the honor of being the first one to leave Nome to complete in the Alaska five-hundred."

There came a halfhearted cheer from the crowd as Kenith took his number, bowed his head once in acceptance, and returned to his seat.

Slowly George pulled the names out and read them. Another dozen lean and brutish mushers made the same quick trip to the stage, received their number, and returned to the seat. People no longer bothered to try and cheer as each name was called. They sat expectant to hear their name, ready to pounce upon their number and begin plotting how they will pass the people before them while keeping those behind, behind.

More names were called. Steel and his master managed to get number sixteen. Soon it seemed that everyone in the room had received a number except Kodi and Mr. Simpson. Finally George Neil called Mr. Simpsons name and together they made their way to the stage, received their number, and returned and sat.

Kodi looked for a long time at the number Mr. Simpson held in his hand. They would be the thirty-fifth team to leave Nome. They would have to pass thirty-five people, all while keeping ahead of the twenty or so other mushers. Kodi began to realize that this might be a slightly more difficult race than he had anticipated.

* * *

Eventually the hubbub of the church died as the last names were called and the last numbers assigned. Several dozen mushers hadn't been around to have their names called and it was deemed they would start lastly. A large map was brought out showing the Nome peninsula. The course was outlined. First a straight one hundred mile run to White Mountain. Then a two hundred mile run northeast following the White Mountain river to the North Peak Gold mine, followed by another two hundred mile run over the White Mountains and down to Nome and the finish line.

"Now good luck and Godspeed on your journey gentlemen." George Neil finished.

Every musher stood, buttoned up their coats and donned their mittens and hats, then turned and walked through the large double doors at the back. They strolled in one large group of fuzzy bearish people to the bar where the piano played loudly even from the vantage point of the street. The men all walked into the building and sat where chairs presented themselves. Several barmaids laughed with the mushers as they ferried shot glasses of liquor around to the tables. The mushers smiled, talked strategy, and drank freely.

Mr. Simpson took a shot glass from one of the smiling woman and sat at a table with several other mushers who smiled and greeted him by name. At the same time as he sat Mr. Simpson unclipped the leash from Kodi's collar and patted him on the back of the neck.

Kodi sat under the table and looked around the room for Steel. One of the barmaids brought a plate of raw moose steaks around. She asked Mr. Simpsons if his dog could have one. Mr. Simpson bowed his head, "Yup." The barmaid forked a steak off the plate and dropped it at Kodi's feet and he ate it briskly. Kodi then watched the barmaid with the steaks walk around feeding all the other dogs in the bar.

Kodi watched her stroll to the men sitting at the bar and offer steaks to their dogs. One of the dogs was Steel and Kodi watched Steel eagerly take one of the steaks and swallow it in one bite. Steel's eyes met Kodi as soon as he finished. Steel quickly twitched his nose, beckoning Kodi to come closer. Kodi promptly walked under the table and to the bar where Steel sat.

"Kodi." Steel greeted warmly. "Having a good time?"

"Yeah." Kodi replied.

"I never get tired of eating warm meat served to me in a warm building." Steel smiled gaily. "It's the best."

Kodi smirked halfheartedly. "Yeah." He looked away for a second. "I wanted to talk to you Steel about my friends."

"You mean your team." Steel corrected with an air of contempt.

"Yeah, my team." Kodi replied. "It's just that I think I might be to-"

"Hold that thought Kodi." Steel interrupted. "Help me slip out of this collar. I want you to meet some other leaders."

Kodi complied and grabbed Steel's collar with his teeth as Steel pulled backwards out of the collar. When Steel finally pulled free Kodi looked up at Steel's master to see if he had noticed anything. But Kodi figured he probably didn't see anything by the way he slammed six shots of liquor in six seconds without grimacing in the least.

"Come on Kodi. The guys are waiting in one of the back rooms." Steel said standing and walking around the side of the bar and through an open door.

Kodi followed Steel into the dimly lit back room. One large oak desk stood in the center of the room. Filing cabinets, glass faced gun lockers, and bookshelves lined the sides of the room in a semi-organized manner. A fire burned in an open fireplace which was built of granite rocks and cement. The head of a caribou hung over the fireplace, it's glass eyes forever frozen in fear of the man who had shot him.

Four other dogs were already in the room gingerly drinking out of silver bowls in front of the desk. They continued to drink quietly as Kodi followed Steel towards them.

"Boys." Steel smiled.

All four of the dogs lifted their heads and looked at Steel. A grey husky with a black spot on his right eye leapt forwards smiling brightly. "Steel! I haven't seen you around here in years. Where have you been?"

"Oh, I've been here and there. You know how it is Clif."

"Yeah? You running in the race?" Clif replied.

"My friend Kodi and I are both competing. " Steel answered.

Clif's eyes fell on Kodi as if he were trying to read something deep within him. "Is he a leader?" He asked Steel accusingly.

"Of course he is." Steel replied. "I've been teaching him how to take charge of his team. He's been having some trouble with that. I thought I might bring him in here to get a drink and ask for some advice from some real heroes."

Clif smirked broadly. "Alright Kodi. Let me introduce you to the gang." Clif turned. "The fool on the left there is Benson, Won the Alaska five hundred two times in his youth, and again this year he's going to compete in his prime."

Kodi looked at Benson. He appeared to be a husky pit-bull mix with luscious dark brown fur and the massive frightening head of a pit-bull.

"The dog next to him is Quen. He used to be a fighting dog until they put him in some traces and found he could pull. He usually pulls tons of mining equipment. This is going to be his first race."

Quen was a husky pure and true. His fur was shaggy and wolfish. Old scars covered his face and neck. His right eyes had a slash across it and the eye in this socket was scared over and white.

"The dog on the right is DT. That's short for doesn't talk. He hasn't spoken once since I've known him, but rumor has it that he used to hunt wolves and pull sleds on the Yukon. Then his master got hungry one winter and tried to eat him. But this is going to be his first race, as far as I know."

DT appeared to be in all appearances a black wolf. He was massive in size and strength. He had scars on his muzzle and cold blue eyes which seemed to see everything and nothing at the same time.

"And I'm Clif. Local dog whose run in the Alaska five hundred five times, but never places any higher than second place. … Who are you Kodi?"

Kodi cleared his throat. "My names Kodi. I run the mail team from here to White Mountain."

There was a short pause followed by mirthful laughter from Clif, Quen, and Benson. DT stared coldly at Kodi as if he had said something vaguely irritating. Kodi felt terribly shy due to their laughter and wanted to leave.

"Well nice to meet you Kodi … of the mail team." Clif said simply as he stopped laughing. "Would you like to have a drink?"

Kodi didn't exactly understand what there was to 'drink,' but he shook his head and tried to act calm. "Sure."

"Well come and get some." Clif said padding over to the bowl he had been drinking out of earlier. "Here, you can have the rest of mine." He said poking a bowl with his nose.

Kodi stepped up to the silver bowl and sniffed at the clear liquid within. It burned his nose terribly and he straightaway recognized it as being what the men in the bar were drinking. "It smells awful." Kodi said simply.

"That's because you're not supposed to smell it. You're supposed to drink it." Benson said stepping up to Kodi's side.

"Why do I want to?" Kodi asked.

Benson looked at Clif, then Clif looked at Steel. Finally Quen stepped forwards and put his nose up to Kodi's. "I thought you said you were a leader? This is for you to drink. Are you going to drink it, or are you going to get out and go back to being a wheel-dog."

"Alright." Kodi replied and put his head down and lapped at the foul liquid which burned his mouth and throat. He grimaced as he finished the half inch of liquid in the bottom of the bowl, and for a moment felt his stomach churn and wretch, demanding him to expel this fluid immediately. But he managed to hold it in and contort his expression even more – as if squeezing the pain out.

"How do you feel?" Steel asked.

"I feel sick." Kodi replied with a light chuckle.

"You just need some more." Clif said pulling another tin under Kodi's nose with his paw.

Kodi looked at all their faces. Everyone except DT smiled at him.

"Come on finish it." Quen snapped, but at least he was smiling now.

Kodi dropped his nose into the new dish and forced himself to drink the burning fluid. All the while his stomach groaned. When he finished and looked up at Clif.

Something about Clif's face had changed. Clif was blurry and had four eyes and his head kept bobbing up, down, closer, and further. Then Kodi realized it was his eyes and head which had changed perspective. Inside he felt good, very good, and so happy with himself that he began to smile stupidly. Kodi began giggling, then laughing, and finally he fell sideways laughing and babbling. "Aredfa a you a mead do. Steel?"

* * *

Everything became a blur for Kodi as he lay on his back on the floor. He laughed loudly and talked in long slurred words which just as well might not have been actual words. He felt like a leader and he joked and laughed roughly with his new friends. The only thing Kodi knew was that he felt good, he felt confident, and he felt as if he were ready to conquer the world at any cost, if only he could stand.

"So she thins I'm a pig." Kodi said roughly, finishing his recounting of the story about him mouthing off about Dusty. "I thin shed just does understud woot I'm falking about. Knew what I min?"

"I think you like her Kodi, and you should cut her from your team." Steel said now laying on his side gingerly lapping at a tin dish of liquor himself. "Let her come begging back to you."

"Yeah!" Kodi laughed. "I do lik her . Bot dat will tech her a losen not to mess wid a lider and stoop her be get my parentss indo it."

"And she'll respect you." Clif said simply. "Love is one thing, but respect is another."

"Then again." Steel said lifting his head from his bowl. "I think you should go out with another more beautiful girl. Forget Dusty altogether. You're a leader and the most beautiful girls are what you should be going after. I think you were right to call her ugly. You should have chased her down and done it to her face, let her know where she belongs."

"Yeah." Kodi replied smiling. "And anuder thin, ever body says my friiieend Steeel her, is horrible. I'he nothin but bad thins abot him. Specially frum my padrents."

"I think your dad just doesn't want you to be a leader. He wants you to be like him, a bum." Steel laughed. "What sort of work does Balto do around here? Answer, none. His only claim to fame is this one thing he did so long ago. Now all he does is walk around like he owns the place. Constantly telling dogs where they should be."

"But my dad says vou dried to kell him." Kodi replied.

"That's a load of manure!" Steel snapped angrily. "That pompous fool tried to kill me! I was only defending myself from him! I can't believe he would feed you such lies. … Kodi, your father is a liar. How long was it before he told you that you were part wolf?"

Kodi looked into the top of his head, thinking about it. "I dun thunk it was him. I lernd it from my tem when dey larned whus soon I was."

"Do you see what kind of dishonest your father is!" Steel snapped. "It just puts me into such a rage. … You know what Kodi? We should go find your dad and take him down a notch. Teach him a lesson or two."

Kodi shook his head. "Nu, id rather jus kee pretending he not here."

Steel seemed to chew on this for a while. "Alright." Steel replied as he looked back into his tin dish. "But what say we go and see if we can find any girls who might like to take us home?"

Kodi began to shake his head. He wasn't any good at talking to girls. "I dun thin I shood go home an slip."

"Not on your life." Steel said standing up. "We're going to go find some nice girls who want to be friends." Steel stepped over to Kodi and began prodding him to his feet.

* * *

Outside in the cold Alaskan morning Steel and Kodi strolled casually and merrily down the snow blown street under the glow of the lantern lights. Snow fell in waves and drifted on the leeward sides of all the buildings. There appeared to be nobody around, and all the lights in the windows of the houses were out.

Kodi stumbled along, trying to remember – or figure out- how to use four legs again. It was a task which took all of his cunning and ability. In his head he knew he should have been resting up for tomorrow's mail run, and in his head he knew that even if he left and slept now he would be worthless on the team anyways.

"Look there!" Steel said coming to a stop. "It's the Sun sisters."

Kodi raised his head and followed Steel's gaze across the street to where twin golden blond female dogs, both with luscious fur coats which shined with their own brightness, were looking across the street at them. They both whispered into each other's ears, giggling and occasionally glancing across the street at Steel and Kodi.

"Come on Kodi let's go talk to them." Steel said walking out into the street towards them.

Inside Kodi wanted to turn around and go home and sleep. He felt sick and dizzy. Plus … well, he wasn't very good at talking to girls. In fact he had never really had any sort of conversation with what he figured were very beautiful girls in his entire life. But something inside Kodi made him stumble forwards after Steel. He felt confident enough to say something, even though he had no idea what words coming out of his mouth might be about.

"Hello ladies." Steel said stepping up onto the wooden walkway they sat on.

Both the girls giggled and replied in tandem. "Hello." They giggled more.

"This here is my friend Kodiak." Steel said sitting and turning his head to Kodi as he stepped onto the wooden sidewalk at his side.

"Hi Kodi." The girl on the left said rolling her right shoulder in a seductive manner.

Kodi grinned stupidly. She was unbearably beautiful; she was smiling and looking at him in the eyes for no other reason than he existed. Kodi loved it. "Hi." Kodi replied, suddenly able to speak without slurring, even though his legs still felt like rubber under his body. "I noticed you looking at me."

She giggled. "My names Sasha Sun and this is my sister Sandra Sun."

Kodi giggled. "I love it."

"You love what silly." Sasha replied with an inquisitive twitch of her ear.

Kodi thought about what he had said and felt embarrassed. "I don't know." Kodi stated as he began to giggle even more.

"I think he's saying he loves you." Steel interrupted, giving Kodi a wink.

Sasha's mouth opened wide as if appalled.

For a moment Kodi's insides clenched up and he felt sure he was going to vomit. Fear welled up inside him and demanded him to turn on his rubbery legs and flee.

Then Sasha giggled and smiled. "That's okay, I kind of love you to … Kodiak."

Kodi's heart sprang to life and fluttered madly against his ribs. He never thought talking to girls was this easy. Then again he had never really tried talking to any girl other than his mother, sister, and Dusty. He had always been too afraid of what he might say or do.

"Kodi and I are leaders, running in the Alaska five-hundred." Steel stated matter-of-factly.

"Oh my." Sandra said smiling at Steel. "You two are leaders?"

"More like athletes." Steel replied casually. "It takes a lot of strength, fidelity, and intelligence to be a leader."

"Really … cause Sandra and I were just saying how much we wished we could meet a couple boys like you."

"Is that so?" Steel said lifting himself up and stepping forwards, pushing himself closer to Sandra. He lowered his voice to a smooth purr. "Because we were just saying how much we wish we could meet a couple twins like you to go and show us a thing or two."

Sasha stood and stepped towards Kodi "Hmmm." Sasha hummed and pushed herself against Kodi's chest.

Before Kodi even realized it she began nuzzling against the side of his neck and tickling his ear with her tongue. The warmth of her body felt so inviting Kodi's head twisted stiffly against Sasha's. Kodi felt himself quickly turning into a bowl of warm kibble and sliding away down a trough of pure ecstasy. He was infatuated and ready to go anywhere and do anything Sasha told him to. All she had to do was ask.

"KODI!"

Kodi heard the voice calling him from down the street. But Kodi rejected it. He was in no other world than Sasha's.

"KODI!"

Who's voice was that? Kodi thought it sounded familiar, if only he could put his paw on it. But it didn't matter; it would go away soon enough if he just ignored it and kept nuzzling Sasha ever so tightly.

"Why don't you beat it?" Steel's vicious voice came through.

"KODI! KODI! It's me, your brother."

Kodi stepped back from Sasha's embrace and looked for a long moment at his brother Dakota standing in the street with Steel standing between them growling. Kodi felt painfully angry at his brother for upsetting this perfect moment. A growl rose deep out of his throat and seethed forth upon his brother. "Didn't you understand that I don't want to be bothered by your trivial problems?"

Dakota's face sank, but his resolve pressured on. "Kodi please. I really need to talk to you."

"Beat it!" Kodi growled as he stepped forwards towards Dakota. He crouched down to attack. The fur on the back of his neck stood on end.

Dakota surveyed his brother's posture, saw Kodi's bared teeth and saw the resolve of hate in his eyes. Dakota knew his only chance to run was now. It was also his only chance to stand up to the evil which had become his brother. "Kodi … I'm not leaving until you hear me out. Steel is trying to-"

But Dakota didn't utter another syllable. Steel pounced upon Dakota's back. His teeth bit stiffly at the scruff of Dakota's neck – forcing Dakota to the ground and over onto his left side.

Before Kodi knew what he was doing he had leapt atop Dakota with Steel, biting and slamming his paws into any soft spot he could see. Kodi felt violently enraged at his brother, at his parents, at Dusty, at his team, at this whole bloody town. And all that rage beat in his heart with a fury, and this fury poured from his heart into his brother's soft flesh with each weighty blow.

"Kodi no! STOP IT! KODI, STOP IT!"

Abruptly Kodi felt someone's Jaws latch around his back leg and pull him quickly backwards off Dakota. "What are you doing?" Kodi growled as he spun around, swinging his clenched paw at his attacker. His paw contacted solidly with his attackers right eye, and his attacker released him and leapt back with a whimper.

Kodi quickly and drunkenly stood and prepared himself to fight his attacker … his father.

Balto retreated back next to Jenna, blinking his right eye quickly, trying to rub the pain out with the back of his paw. Tears poured from his quickly swelling and dreadfully red eye.

Kodi hesitated, felt the rage dip in its intensity. He had just hit his father. He had never hit his father. He had never thought he would ever hit his father. The thought of what his father would do or say suddenly weighed heavy in his mind. Kodi felt his paws turn and begin sprinting away with him attached.

"Kodi?" Jenna called after him.

But Kodi quickly turned around a corner and down another street and right under the feet of the lamplighter. The lamplighter, shocked at what he thought was an animal attacking him in the dark, quickly swung three unlit oil lanterns in his right hand at the creature. Black lamp oil sloshed out of the lamps wick as he swung. The oil covered Kodi's head and back, instantly dying some of his red fur pitch black.

Kodi bolted from under the lamplighters feet and away.

* * *

Balto blinked again and again and again. He couldn't see anything. Finally when he managed to stop his eye from throbbing and tearing up so much he looked for Kodi. But at this point Kodi was nearly five blocks away and advancing at an airplanes speed.

In front of Balto, Steel stood crouched down over Dakota's limp body, growling and baring his teeth as if he were a starving wolf over a fresh kill. "I told you Balto. He doesn't listen to you anymore. He's more my son than yours. I've put these thoughts into his head, and now they will grow and consume him totally. The Kodi you know is dead."

"That's where your plans gone wrong Steel." Jenna said sharply as she stepped in front of Balto. "He sees how much of a bad influence you are now, and you'll never see him again. I know my son."

Steel laughed and stood up straight as he realized he wasn't going to be attacked outright. "So you think, but I'm all he has left now." Steel turned and began to stroll away down the street. "Oh, by the way Jenna, you left this in the street." Steel gave a sharp kick with his back paw, contacting Dakota squarely in the stomach.

Jenna suddenly found herself lurching over her son after Steel.

But Steel anticipated her attack and dashed away at more than twice the speed Jenna could muster to catch him. Balto rushed a little further down the street after Steel. But again his eye began to throb and water and he stopped before he had gone half a block, totally blind and disoriented.

Quickly he returned to Jenna and sat and rubbed his eye, trying to get it to stop. Jenna crouched low over Dakota prodding her son and licking the blood from the few scratches he had on his neck. "Come on Dakota. Wake up. Come on. Please wake up Dakota."

Dakota opened his mouth but kept his eyes closed. He spoke as if frustrated, not injured. "I'm fine mom. I'm alright. I'm just so ... mad."

Jenna smiled, then turned and looked at Balto. Finally she closed her eyes and let the tears flow.

* * *

By the time Kodi stopped running he was more than two miles west of town and completely out of breath. He collapsed into the snow on his left side and promptly retched until his back and sides hurt. The way he felt inside could not be expressed in any words which came to his mind. All he could do was start screaming. He screamed into the snow and at the sky. He screamed for how angry he was with himself for hitting his father and his brother. He screamed and screamed as if it would get something out of him. But in the end he only managed to get out more vomit. The anger and confusion lingered like a tumor in his head.

Kodi knew on some level his parents had been right about Steel in that he was a bad influence in some ways. But then again wasn't everybody in some way? Now things had gone so out of whack as to be cracked and foolish. He couldn't admit to anybody he had been wrong. Not after all the things he had done in Steel's good authority.

Kodi realized he had burned all the bridges he had crossed over and was now in uncharted waters with a dark sky encroaching upon him. He had become his own dog like he wanted, free of everyone who tried to influence him to back down and take things easy. He had become a true leader bred for winning and born anew in a screaming fire of rage. Kodi was dead, and in his place was. ...

Then Kodi felt the rage building and seething in his head. A voice began to echo around his skull, drowning out his own inner voice of reason until this voice formed words in his throat and belched forth in a growl. "I couldn't have been wrong. It's all of them who are wrong. It's all these, these … fools who are wrong. They just don't understand who I am. I am a leader! I am Kodiak! I am Kodiak the leader! And a damn good one at that" Kodi growled like a lion. "I'll show them what a true leader can do. I'll show all of them when I win that golden collar." He seethed and shook with rage. Suddenly he found himself smirking at his hurt father, and wishing her had done further damage to him. Kodi's eyes glowed red under the black strands of fur on his head which stuck out in messy thick locks. Something had cracked in Kodi's head; a personality had split from his own ego and caged him up. For Kodi was no longer Kodi.


	19. Kodi's Reprieve

**Chapter 19 **

Mr. Simpson had Ralph, Dusty, Kip, and Fell all fed and suited up in their new harnesses in the alley behind the post office. The mail had already been put into two large sacks and strapped on the back of the new sled with the rest of the gear. Mr. Simpson stood nearby clapping his hands together, not so much to keep warm but just to pass the time. Everything was ready to go, except his lead dog, Kodi.

"Where is that dog?" Mr. Simpson grumbled as he paced back and forth on the crunching snow. "Should have kept my eye on him last night." He muttered under his breath.

"Maybe he ran off to run on Steel's team." Ralph stated hopefully. "Be better for us, and maybe for him."

Dusty shook her head sadly. "I don't think so."

"What makes you say that?" Ralph asked. "Kids nothing but a bully now."

"It's not that. It's just that I saw Balto and Jenna this morning on the way here. Jenna asked me if Kodi had come back to the boiler room last night. I said no and asked if anything had happened to Kodi."

"Why?" Ralph interrupted. "Who cares if that mutt falls in the ocean?"

"Because Balto had a black eye like he had been in a fight."

Ralph's eyebrows rose. "Balto? In a fight?"

"Yeah, I tried to ask him what happened, but before I could get it out of him they were running off to check somewhere else." Dusty pushed a nervous little pile of snow around in front of her paw.

"Do you think Kodi attacked Balto?" Ralph asked. "It really wouldn't surprise me if he did. But still…"

Dusty shook her head. "I don't know. I wouldn't think he would. But then again I've been wrong about Kodi for a while now."

"You think you were wrong about him?"

Ralph and Dusty both turned to the cream and rust colored husky limping towards them from behind the gear shed. Congealed and bloody gashes covered his face, neck, back, and legs. His left eye had begun to bruise over and close up. His upper lip puffed like a balloon ready to burst. For how terrible Dakota looked, he looked like another dog completely.

"Dakota?" Dusty asked in a bewildered and unsure tone. "Is that you?"

Dakota bowed his head. "Yeah, what's left of me anyways."

Dusty stepped closer to Dakota and inspected the totality of his wounds as if they had been put on as some poorly thought out prank. "Did … Kodi?"

Dakota shook his head. "Yeah."

"Why? How? Where?" Dusty spitted the words out in one single breath as she stepped back into line. "How could he attack his own brother? Did he attack Balto to?"

Dakota sat, his face full of obvious pain from the action. "Oh, I'm sore." He breathed for a moment. "I tried to warn him about Steel, then him and Steel jumped me and did … well, this. Only thing that saved me from a worse beating was my mom and dad showed up. I don't think Kodi liked that much since he attacked dad."

"He attacked Balto? I knew that slithering snake would." Ralph replied in a rage. "Is there anything he won't do?"

"I don't know." Dakota said shaking his head solemnly. "All I know is he's not my brother anymore. I don't care who he is now. I tried to help him, but he doesn't want help. He knows exactly where he wants to be." Dakota lifted himself off the ground with more of the same pained faces he had given when he sat. "I don't want to be here when he gets here. I just wanted to warn you guys he's not Kodi anymore. He's something worse now. Just stay out of his path and as far away from him as you can." Dakota began to amble back the way he had come.

Dusty's curiosity got the better of her. "What was Kodi doing last night when you found him?" Dusty asked, trying to sound like she really didn't care, but the concern in her tone undoubtedly bled through.

Dakota looked over his shoulder and shrugged. "I don't know what he was trying to do, but I know what he was doing."

"What was he doing then?"

"He was getting ready to go. How do you say it nicely? 'Swimming,' with some girl. Just remember to save your own hides, not his." Dakota continued walking around the edge of the post office and vanished as quickly as he had appeared.

Dusty tried not to let the hurt of Kodi's, 'swim,' onto her face. She felt betrayed again. She felt the wounds Kodi had opened before being stretched wide and prodded at with a sharp stick. But like any scar tissue, it was easier to open up a second time.

* * *

Kodi never felt so sick and tired in his entire life. Earlier he had felt powerful and unstoppable, ready beyond all doubts to take over the world. But this morning he felt queasy, sore, tired, lost, and in no mood to make a hundred mile run.

Kodi began to curse Kirby under his breath for being hurt and on the sidelines. If Kirby felt well enough to criticize Kodi about his leadership skills he should at least be good enough to run the stupid mail for a day so Kodi could get some sleep.

But something in Kodi knew he couldn't let that happen. More than anything Kodi didn't want to see another dog in his lead traces, especially after he worked so hard to get them. Kodi didn't know exactly what he would do if Kirby stood in his traces when he got there, but he knew it wouldn't be good or terribly pretty.

So Kodi ambled slowly to the post office, taking a minute or two here and there to vomit, breath, and regain his composure to stumble onwards. He knew they'd be lucky to make it ten miles outside of town before he collapsed.

Finally Kodi made it to the post office. He paused, took a moment to collect himself, and stepped confidently into the alley to his awaiting team.

* * *

When Dusty saw Kodi step around the corner of the post office she felt rage build in her heart and tempt her lips to move. But then something else happened, something Dusty hadn't expected to happen in this moment. She suddenly felt sorry for Kodi.

Underneath it all she could still see the leader she had fallen for those months and weeks ago. Dusty saw the locks of black hair coming out of Kodi's head and realized Kodi really wasn't bad at heart. Something, or someone, had gotten into him and controlled his action like a puppet. She knew somewhere under the fur and sickness Kodi's true self still lived, breathed, smiled, laughed, and loved.

She also felt a great pity for him and wanted to reach out and help. He seemed barely able to make it to his traces without stumbling over his own paws. Plus, on a side note to herself, Dusty thought the black locks made him look more dashing, mysterious, and exciting.

But then reality kicked back in and Dusty watched her sick and embittered leader silently take his place at the front of the team. His eyes bore briefly on Dusty with pure acrimony, and Dusty swore a streak of red. All the while Mr. Simpson scolded Kodi and put his harness on in a quick fashion. Then he asked aloud about Kodi's fur, but moved on since it didn't matter.

Finally done putting the harness on Mr. Simpson jumped onto the back of the sled. "Hike, hike, hike. Come on, we're running an hour late. Hike, Hike, get up there."

Kodi and the team leaned hard into the traces and pulled. The sled moved around the post office and turned up the hill leading out of town.

* * *

By the time they reached the ten mile mark Kodi might as well have been dead and just as much good at pulling. The traces dragged loosely behind him in the snow, occasionally tripping Dusty and Ralph up. The team no longer ran but simply walked along through the forest. Kodi knew at this rate it would take them three or four days to reach White Mountain. He knew he should have just stayed home, he wished he had just stayed home.

"Come on. Pick up the pace." Ralph taunted. "We're not on a stroll through the park here."

Dusty tried to stare Ralph down, to tell him to stop with her eyes. But she could see in Ralph's eyes he wanted to pick a fight and there was little to stop him.

"Our fearless leader, too sick to pull a little mail?" Ralph continued to taunt. "Maybe you should just quit and go join Steel's team?"

Kodi hadn't the spirits for this. He felt winded and exhausted beyond anything he had ever felt in his entire life. He struggled with all his might to simply keep his stomach from emptying in another violent surge, let alone run or lead. Now Ralph was going to get going on him? Kodi knew this wouldn't stand for too much longer. He knew one of them was going to go down.

"What is that new hair dew slowing you down?" Ralph continued. "Getting to much wind resistance?"

_Keep running Kodi; don't let it get to you. You and him will have a talk when you stop._ Kodi thought to himself as he struggled. But the thought did little to stop the surge of anger building.

"Keep up this pace and maybe we'll be there by the time the snow thaws."

Kodi half looked over his shoulder, stumbled, almost fell, but managed to recover. Kodi growled and clenched his paws. _That's it, one more outburst, and I'm going to cleave his head from his shoulders._

"Hey Kodi, I saw the black eye you gave Balto th-"

But Ralph didn't have a moment to utter another word. Kodi jackknifed around in mid stride and seized Ralph's neck in his jaws. Both of them collapsed into the snow at the side of the trail as the rest of the team stopped in shock. Together they kicked up a flurry of snow around each other, snarling and tangling harnesses together while growling like wild beasts.

"Hey! Hey!" Mr. Simpson bellowed from the sled.

"Kodi, Ralph! Stop it!" Dusty yelled at the pair of them.

Then the cloud of snow began to lessen and Dusty realized the fight had turned from a brawl to a possible murder. Kodi lay on top of Ralph with his jaws firmly clenched around Ralph's neck. Ralph's eyes rolled back in his head and began to move less and less. He struggled less and less. His paws kicked feebly out and petted at Kodi's fur. Ralph was dying.

Dusty had to do something and stop this. She began to panic as she realized she might have to get in this fight.

But before Dusty could understand what she needed to do Mr. Simpson rushed up the line and stood over the two dogs with a stout club he always carried in his gear but had never used. "Break it up!" He commanded in an enraged tone. "Stop it!"

Kodi continued to choke the life out of Ralph, seemingly unaware of Mr. Simpson's presence.

Finally Mr. Simpson raised the club high over his head and brought it down on top of Kodi's head with a crack. Like a light going off Kodi jerked once, and was still.

* * *

"Mr. Conner?" Came a shout from the front of the post office.

Mr. Conner recognized the voice from the back room, but failed to understand the urgency behind it. "If you're back already with the mail it's a record?" He smiled and chuckled at his own joke.

"No. I had a problem."

Mr. Conner, curiosity spread cross his face, set the pile of mail he had been sorting aside and walked around to the front counter. "What's the trouble?"

Mr. Simpsons leaned heavily on the counter. His beaver-skin mittens and hat lay next to him in a pile. "Kodi and Ralph got in a scrap."

"Are either of them hurt?" Mr. Conner asked.

Mr. Simpson shook his head. "Ralph's going to be fine; I left him at the vet to get stitches. But I had to knock Kodi out to stop him from killing Ralph."

Mr. Conner raised his eyebrows. "Knocked out?"

Mr. Simpson shook his head and looked into his hands as if ashamed of the action. "I don't know. He's just been antsy and nippy lately. Now he's just getting violent. What should I do with him? This morning he couldn't even pull. He just wandered down the trail at a trot, and then out of nowhere attacked Ralph."

"Maybe your training them to hard?"

Mr. Simpson shook his head. "No more than usual. I could be. But I don't think I am."

Mr. Conner leaned on the counter across from Mr. Simpson. "Maybe you need to cut him from the team? Sell him and get another lead dog."

Mr. Simpson shook his head at the idea. "No I can't, not this close to the race. I just don't have time to train another lead dog."

"What about Kirby?" Mr. Conner stated blandly.

Again Mr. Simpson shook his head. "He's a good dog, but with his recent attack I don't know how good a shape he's going to be in when the race comes. The doc assures me he's going to be fit for the race. But I don't think he will be." Mr. Simpson let it trail off.

Mr. Conner seemed to weight the whole matter heavily in his mind. "You're in a pickle then." He stated finally.

Mr. Simpson shook his head. "You're telling me. I don't even know how I'm going to deliver the mail today."

Mr. Conner shrugged his shoulders. "It wouldn't be the first time it didn't get through on the day it should, or the week it should. I wouldn't worry about the mail. Just concentrate on getting your dogs in order. The mail can wait."

Mr. Simpson shook his head as he accepted the idea, but his face betrayed his shame to have to take the easy way out. "Alright, thank you." Mr. Simpson grabbed his hat and mittens off the counter, put them on, then turned and left through the door with the bell.

* * *

Balto and Jenna opened the door to the boiler room and stepped in through the blast of arctic wind. Balto quickly kicked the door shut with his back paw and the mist surrounding them dissipated. Dusty, Kip, and Fell all sat in front of the boiler silently gazing over at Balto and Jenna. Then they turned back to the fire inside the boiler.

Instantly Jenna rushed across the room to her son lying on his side on a blanket near the back corner of the room. "Kodi, Kodi, Kodi." She said dropping to her belly and prodding his shoulder with her nose. But Kodi didn't move. He simply breathed in, then out.

Dusty stood and strolled across the room to Jenna's side in a dignified way. "I don't think he's going to wake up for a while. And when he does I don't think he's going to be very happy." She said quietly over Jenna's shoulder.

Jenna looked at Dusty. "What happened? Has Mr. Simpson taken him to the Doctor?"

Dusty shrugged. "The doctor was here earlier. He said Kodi was fine, just unconscious and dehydrated. He thought Kodi might have canine flu. He said he should probably rest for a day or two. Then Mr. Simpson left with Ralph to go to the doctor's office to get stiches."

"Stiches?" Balto asked. "What happened?"

Dusty sat and related the whole story back to Balto and Jenna. "And then Mr. Simpson left him here and took Ralph to the doctors to get stitches in his neck."

Jenna shook her head and looked at Kodi with a helpless expression. She looked as if she wanted to say something to Kodi, Balto, or anyone. But nothing came to her lips and she just stared blankly around the room.

Balto on the other paw shook with rage. He had begun pacing back and forth across the floor, muttering under his breath and growling deep in his throat as if talking to someone.

Jenna finally looked at Balto. "What are we going to do?"

"Break Kodi's legs if that's what it takes to keep him safe." Balto growled out of frustration. "Or break Steel's." He murmured in an even more serious tone. "I just can't believe Kodi is so wrapped around Steel's paw. I thought we raised him better than this. I thought we raised him to think for himself." Balto continued pacing and growling. Finally Balto looked at the door to the boiler room and began walking towards it. "Stay here."

"Where are you going Balto?" Jenna asked coming to her feet.

"I'm going to go have a little chat with Steel about his legs." Balto said over his shoulder with a growl.

"He's going to be surrounded by his team. You won't get close." Jenna replied. "I'm coming with you."

Balto walked across the room to the door, opened it, and stepped through it. He glanced back at the last instant. "Anybody else coming?"

Jenna looked at Dusty. "Would you please come Dusty?"

Dusty seemed to think hard on the matter for a moment. "Sure, for you though, not Kodi."

"That's fine with me." Jenna replied.

"We will also accompany you." Fell said standing.

"I bite." Kip smiled as he came to his feet. Then he snapped his jaws as if biting something several times.

Together they all left and followed Balto out of the door.

* * *

Kodi's head never felt so terrible in his entire life. It felt like a split melon being roasted and boiled over a bonfire while electric bolts of lightning split and cracked like a hundred people splitting firewood in his head. His tongue also felt like a desert and his tongue stuck to his teeth.

Kodi opened his eyes. Everything in his vision was fuzzy and indistinct. His eyes strained to focus, but failed. Kodi knew he was in a building, possibly the boiler room but he couldn't' tell. He closed his eyes again and tried to fall back to sleep. But after a minute he heard a door swinging on its hinges and Kodi opened his eyes to try and look around. Again his eyes didn't focus well enough for him to see who was in the room with him.

"Who's there?" Kodi asked. Kodi heard the padding of paws across the wood floor growing closer to him. "I'm warning you." Kodi growled, but the growl hurt his head and throat too much and he stopped.

"How's that to treat your best friend." Steel replied sitting down in front of Kodi just within Kodi's ability to focus.

"I'm so sick Steel." Kodi replied helplessly. "I'm also so thirsty."

"That's what happens after your graduation party." Steel replied with a smirk.

"My graduation?" Kodi said looking up into Steel's eyes.

"Yes Kodi. You graduated. You're now a true leader, an alpha dog, leader of the pack. And as one leader speaking to another, you need to realize we're competitors in a race. We're friends, and we'll always be friends. I'll always help you when you're in need. But competition breeds a better friendship. I taught you everything I know."

Kodi didn't exactly know what Steel was telling him and he struggled to comprehend. "Is this about why I'm so sick, and why I got hit on the head?"

Steel smiled and leaned down close to Kodi's face. "There can only be one Alpha, one winner in this race. What I'm saying is we're friends, but we're also competitors. The reason you're sick and got hit, which was your own fault, is that I'm competing to be an alpha over you. What I'm saying is going into this race; don't expect me to help you along. But I'll always be your friend."

The lights clicked on in Kodi's head. "I think I understand." Kodi began to chuckle. "You're good."

Steel smiled. "Alright, now I need to go. But I'll see you again race day. Maybe when we reach the gold mine and have our twenty four hour reprieve, we'll hang out again?"

Kodi smiled. "But this time I'm not drinking anything you give me."

"Agreed." Steel smiled as he turned to the door. His smile slowly grew into a sadistic grin. "Agreed."

* * *

"Steel, Steel." Char said rushing to the end of his chain to greet Steel. "Balto and a bunch of others were here. Balto made a bunch of noise about getting you back for what you did to his son."

Steel strolled in an unconcerned manner to his chain. "Don't worry about him. He won't fight me as long as I'm with my team. He doesn't want to see anybody else get hurt. And I don't plan on giving him the option again." Steel bent down and picked his collar up over his nose and slipped it down over his neck with a quick shake of his head. "Besides, he's still half wolf, and if he lays one paw on me everybody in town who still distrusts him will tear him apart. He doesn't want to stir up a hornets nest."

"What about Kodi?"

"Don't worry Char. I'm going to get him when we reach the gold mine and our reprieve. Just sit tight and concentrate on winning this race." Steel smiled as he curled around three times and lay over on his side and closed his eyes.


End file.
